


Laura Lives

by midwifeonboard



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-30
Updated: 2008-06-30
Packaged: 2017-10-14 10:45:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 40,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/148423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midwifeonboard/pseuds/midwifeonboard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wrote this what feels like a bazillion years ago. And it was over the period of more than a year, so some of it is good, some of it isn't. I leave it to you to enjoy or not, though I hope overall you will have a good time with it. And when I say explicit, I think there's one non-pr0ny chapter. Just FYI. Beta'd by Restless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 10 years before the destruction of the colonies:

Chapter 1           

 _10 years before the destruction of the colonies:_

Laura sat with her hands folded in her lap. She was going to have to tell Richard and she had really no idea what he was going to say. Either he was going to be unhappy or ecstatic. After ten years, she still couldn’t predict his mercurial moods. He had made his choice five years ago when he married Lijia. A political alliance he had said. He loved her, Laura, but a political alliance with the Ramothan family would smoothe his path to the presidency. Indeed it had. Four year-old Amanda and 2 year-old James had looked down upon the people of the twelve colonies from the flight deck of Colonial One during the inaugural ball, while he danced with his wife and Laura drank champagne and looked on. The children that should have been hers, she should have been at his side, but he chose someone else.

Now what she felt for him was something other. She loved him, yes, but not with the quiet admiration of her youth. At 39, she felt a reckless abandon when they were together. The stolen moments in one of their offices, a clandestine meeting in the broom closet. A glance, a touch that was so secret, so covert that any hint of it would destroy them both.  It wasn’t healthy, and she suffered greatly from it, but she couldn’t stop. It was an addiction. Time and again she told him that it was over. That it was a mistake. Yet, time and again he convinced her to stay. That he needed her. Laura stood and walked over to the window and stared out at the sunny sky. It was a beautiful day, a hopeful day, yet she felt nothing but despair. Twice before she had been at this juncture and twice before she had failed to bear fruit. Another failure would kill her, and success would change her life forever.

            She looked around her living room wondering how she had gone from simple schoolteacher to Secretary of Education of the Twelve Colonies. _I need a drink,_ Laura thought. As she turned around to pour herself two fingers of brandy from the decanter on the side table, she had a start. “Richard, when did you get here?”

            “I just came up the back stairs,” Richard strolled up to Laura and pulled her into his arms. “What was so important that it couldn’t wait for the office?” He kissed her slowly on her lips. “Tired of broom-closet frakkings?” He whispered in her ear.

            Laura pulled away and shook her head, “No, Richard. Not tired. Exhausted.” She turned and poured two glasses of the brisk drink and handed him one while downing hers in one swift gulp.

            Richard eyed her shrewdly, took a sip from his snifter, and set it back on the table. He pulled her back into is embrace. “Laura, what is it?”

            Laura relaxed into his embrace, the embrace that was so familiar and safe, yet dangerous. “Richard, I can’t do this anymore…”

            “Laura, are we going to do this again?”

            She sighed, “I just can’t Richard.”

            “Why? What is it? Has something happened.”

            “Yes, something has happened! Again!” She walked back over to the window and hugged herself tightly.

            Richard walked up behind her and wrapped his arms tightly around her trembling frame. “What is it, Laura? You know you can tell me anything.”

            Laura took in a shaky breath. “Richard, it’s happened again. I just don’t think I can keep this up.”

            His hands stalled their trip back up her arms and he slowly turned her to face him. “Laura. Are you…”

            “Pregnant? Yes. Yes, I am. Again. Gods-damn it, Richard! After the last time I wanted to have my tubes tied but you frakking talked me out of it! ‘Lisothen injections are 99% effective,’” she intoned in a false baritone. “Frak, frak, frak!” She raged as she walked away and threw herself onto the plush couch.

            Richard walked over to her and sat down, pulling her into his arms. “We’ll get through this, Laura. What do you want to do?”

            Laura sighed. “I just don’t know, Richard. I just feel too old to start having babies now… and what if I lose this one like the others? I don’t know if I could handle that. Again.”

            Richard planted a kiss in her auburn waves. He loved her hair, it always smelled so good. Like flowers and the ocean. “Laura, I will stand by you, you know that.”

            She laughed. “Richard, you are the newly elected president of the Colonies. If it gets out that you are frakking your Secretary of Education, oh and by the way everyone, she’s pregnant with your child, your presidency will be over.”

            “No, Laura. It won’t. It has happened before and it will happen again. Presidential marriages are infrequently happy, it’s the rare leader who did not marry for political gain and had another relationship for companionship. Remember President Kelynea?”

            Laura laughed out loud. “She was something else, wasn’t she? When it came out that each of her children had a different father, none of whom was her husband, I thought the world was going to end. Until the Pyramid Drug scandal erupted the next week. Amazing how fast people are willing to forgive and forget when something more juicy comes along.”

            Richard kissed her laughing lips and pulled her astride him. “Laura,” he breathed between kisses, “whatever you want. I love you, you know that.”

            She leaned into his kisses, losing herself in the sensual whirl. “Hmm,” was about all she could bring herself to say when Richard kissed her. As his hands slid under the back of her top and pushed it over her head, she let herself get lost in him. His mouth followed her shirt up her belly while his hands traced down her back around her middle and lingered on her belly for just the barest moment before finding their way back to her breasts. He unhooked her bra and kissed each of the sensitive peaks. She sighed, indulging in the sensation of her oversensitized body. Richard had always been a breast-man, He had worshipped at the altar of her breasts for 10 years and had cast lingering glances their way for the five years before that, when she had been nothing more to him than a bright eyed young optimist who answered the phones in his office during the handsome young mayor’s gubernatorial bid.

            Richard scooped her up into his arms and carried her across the room through the doorway of her master bedroom. They rarely had the luxury of making love in a bed and he wanted to savor it. A fast and furious frak in the closet when no one was looking, or on his desk during a private meeting was exciting, but he feared that it wasn’t enough for her and to be honest, it wasn’t enough for him anymore. He wanted more. His wife had barred him from their marital bed once she discovered she was pregnant with James. _Enough was enough_ , she had said. _Go back to your pretty little schoolteacher. She’ll give you what you want and I can sleep in peace._ He had done so with gratitude. He had given up Laura for 2 1/2 years and he missed the sweetness of making love with her more than she could know.

            It wasn’t easy convincing Laura to take him back, especially when his wife was expecting. She had been pregnant twice during their relationship and miscarried both times. She had been devastated by the losses, the second time was right after his marriage to Samantha and he worried for her sanity. Her mother had recently died and the second loss was a devastating blow.

            He looked at her sprawled topless on the bed and smiled gently. She was his. So sweet. Slowly, he divested her of the rest of her clothes and his own quickly followed suit. He made love to her slowly, joyfully, quietly and noisily. They laughed and cried as they shared each other’s bodies and spooned together in the quiet of the evening after they were spent.  “How far along?”

            “Just 6 or 7 weeks. I went for the blood test today. They offered to do a sonogram to see the heart, but I didn’t want to. I can’t have it be that real yet. I have an appointment to see the midwife in 6 weeks. I hope that I will feel more at ease with this by then.” She turned to face him and buried her head in his neck taking in his woodsy scent. “Are we really going to do this, Richard?”

            He planted another kiss in her hair, “Yes, Laura. I believe we are.” He smiled. “Only this child will really _know_ his parents. No more nannies to raise the child and bring him to kiss his parents each evening and recite the activities of the day, only to disappear into the nursery for another 24 hours.”

            “His? It could be a girl, you know.”

            “A delightful possibility. With her mother’s intelligent eyes and beautiful red hair…”

            Laura laughed. “You already got into my bed, Richard, you don’t have to flatter me.”

            “Who’s flattering? It’s the truth. You are lovely.”

            Laura glanced at her bedside clock, “Richard, it’s 19:15, shouldn’t you…”

            “… be going? Not tonight, Laura. I know we got distracted,” he said as he traced her navel lovingly, “but this is big, Laura. Huge. Do we go public? Do we set you up as a single woman who decided to have a baby on her own rather than wait for Mr. Right?”

            “No. We can’t go public. Not yet, anyhow. Richard,” she turned on her side, propped up on one arm. “There is too much at stake. Despite President Kelynea’s infamous scandals, the public would eat you alive and you know it.”

            Richard sighed and flopped onto his back. “Yes, I know. So what do we do, Laura? I don’t want to be shut out of the life of another of my children. I never see my kids. My wife doesn’t want me ‘influencing them.’ I still can’t figure out why she married me if she finds me so distasteful.”

            Laura was not willing to go down that road again. She sat up and reached for her blue silk robe. “Why don’t you take a shower? There are extra towels in the closet, and I have some of your soap in the medicine cabinet.”

            He gave her a quick, hard kiss on the lips. “You do take care of me Miss Roslin. Are you sure you won’t join me?”

Needing to lighten the mood, Laura swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. “Not this time. I need to do the dishes, before they pile up too high” she grinned, and bodily turned him, shoving him towards the bathroom. “You do have the most fantastic ass, though.”

He turned and gave her a wicked grin as he shut the door. Laura smiled. Maybe this time it would be all right.

 

 


	2. Just after the events of Crossroads I/II

Chapter 2

 

 _Just after the events of Crossroads I/II_

 

            Laura rolled over and looked at the man who lay sleeping next to her. Smiling she brushed his cheek with her fingers thinking about how different her relationship with Bill Adama is from her twenty years as Richard Adar’s lover. Richard always had the upper hand in their relationship. Oh, he claimed that she owned him, and that he couldn’t live without her, but truthfully he had all the power. She could never tell anyone about their relationship, they could never go anywhere together, never share a loving glance in public. In fact they never shared _anything_ in public. Their relationship and time had isolated her and changed her from an outgoing, bubbly young woman to a serious, lonely, middle-aged woman. She often wondered what happened to that young woman. Occasionally she came out to play when she and Bill were together. While their relationship was no secret, it was not food for the public either. They did not actively hide it, but did not actively encourage others to acknowledge it. This was a relationship of equals. Richard had been her peer in age, but her superior in reality. Bill was her elder by ten years, but her equal in every way that mattered. As frenzied and out of control her love for Richard was, her love for Bill was quiet and deeper than space. A select few knew, and with the return of her cancer, she was certain more and more people would come to realize what was between them.

            This time would be different. The cancer was so small that it was barely detectable this time and she was determined to fight, because now she had something to live for. She had known about her first tumor for over a year before Richard discovered it when they were making love and insisted she see a doctor. However, then, she didn’t feel that there was much left to live for and certainly didn’t want to go through what her mother did for a life she no longer really cared about. This time though, she had a family; a wonderful man by her side who loved her more deeply than she could have ever imagined, and the people of the fleet had, indeed, become her children, and their children, her grandchildren. There was a civilization to save and a home to find. There was a life worth fighting for.

            As she gazed at his beloved, craggy face, she remembered the first night they spent together. It was the night she conceded the presidential election to Baltar. All thoughout the election, something had been building. His quarters had become her second home during the campaign. They had shared many meals together and quiet conversations. It was during that time that they quietly acknowledged their deep feelings for each other. A few lingering kisses had been shared. They held hands and shared glances and touches as they conversed each evening. It was a time of quiet joy for both of them. Then New Caprica had been discovered and the election swiftly shifted to favor Baltar and his settlement dreams. The night he was sworn in, they had attended the ceremony with a gravity and silent despair, wondering if they had done the right thing by refusing to break the law.

***

            Adama had arranged guest quarters for her on Galactica. She knew that her only choice was to settle on New Caprica with her people. If this was what they wanted, she was going to show her support by being with them, as much as she had feared that it was the wrong decision. However imminent settlement was though, she still needed a place to stay until then. She never made it to the guest quarters. That night, or for the three weeks that preceded her move to her tent on New Caprica. Bill had led her to his quarters where they sat side-by-side on his worn leather couch and shared a shot of Galactica’s finest while contemplating the future of what they had come to think of as _their_ rag-tag-fleet.

            “Gods, Bill, what’s to become of us?” She had asked without thinking of the double meaning.

            He smiled, answering the question she asked, not the one left unacknowledged. “I don’t know, Laura, I don’t know.” He reached out and took her hand, gently bringing it to his lips. “All I know is that the people still need you, in spite of themselves.”

            She smiled at him and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. “They need you too, Bill. The Cylons are gone for now, but for how long? A day? A year? A generation? They _will_ find us, of that I am certain.”

            “Yes. But for now, we should enjoy our peace.” He slid his hand up to the back of her hair, weaving his fingers through the silky strands and angled her face towards his.

            He brushed his lips against hers, A whisper of a touch. Once, twice, three times, before she made a strangled cry of despair and wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. Their bodies crushed together as their tongues dueled and tears mingled. They pulled apart and stared at each other. “Bill/Laura,” they had said in unison.

            “Bill, make me feel, please. Frak caution, I want this. We’ve been waiting for so long, and why?”

            “Our positions.”

            “Frak postions, Bill. In they eyes of the fleet, we are obsolete. Let’s just _live._ ” She sat up on her knees.

            “Gods, Laura. You know…”

            “Stop talking, Bill.” She covered his mouth with her hand, quickly replacing her hand with her mouth, pushing him down to the couch as she kissed him. Slowly his arms came around her, trailing down to her behind, and he rolled her toward the back of the couch until she was beneath him. He pulled back.

            “Laura, I am not going to have a quickie with you on the couch.”

            “But…”

            He covered her mouth with his hand, a mirror of her earlier gesture. “No, Laura, I am not going to frak you on my couch. I am going to make love to you in my bed. He sat back, pulling her up with him. Taking her hand, he led her to his rack. Without standing on ceremony, he began to unbutton her suit. Quickly, he managed to divest her of her jacket and skirt. He reached for her blouse.

            “I can do the rest. You get out of that uniform. Too many buttons for me to deal with.” They both undressed themselves and slipped into the bed. When Bill reached for Laura she slid into his arms with the ease of someone who had been doing it for years. Their bodies simply knew the other’s.

They kissed tenderly for what seemed like hours. Exploring each other’s faces and necks with gentle nips, until Laura gave a little “hmm” which seemed to release a maelstrom in Bill. His tongue swept over her lips, begging for entry, and she was all too happy to comply. Their kisses became more and more urgent and while Laura held tightly to Bill’s back, having laced her arms through his, Bill’s hands found their way to her bottom and gave a squeeze. Laura broke the kiss and gave Bill a surprised look. “I’ve admired your ass for years, Laura.”

She laughed. “And here I thought you were admiring my chest.”

He smiled at that. “While you  _do_ have  phenomenal breasts, Madame President, it’s your ass I’ve been wanting to lay my hands on.”

She giggled. Actually giggled! At the same time tears started pouring down her face.

Bill reached up and kissed the tears. “Laura…”

She shook her head and bent down to kiss his neck. She trailed kisses lower to his scar. A reminder to her how much this man had sacrificed for the fleet. For _her._ She kissed the scar tenderly, running the tip of her tongue back up it until she reached the hollow between his collarbones. She lightly nipped his warm skin back up to his lips, molding her body to his she kissed him with all of the feeling that she was unsure she’d ever be able to express in words. Laura threw her leg over Bill’s hip in an unmistakable invitation. He answered by guiding himself into her warmth, wrapping his arms even more tightly around her. They rocked together slowly, reveling in the connection. Enjoying the sensual pleasure of the joining of two bodies that had been separated for far too long. Their breath mingled, speeding up and slowing down as their bodies found a rhythm that could not be denied.  Laura let out a near-silent moan has her body found its release, giving Bill all the encouragement he needed. “Laura, Laura, Laura,” he repeated as he found his own pleasure in the depths of her body.

***

            Laura smiled as she remembered their first of many nights together before the disaster that was to become the Occupation. That had been her first time making love with anyone since the day she left for the Galactica on the eve of the destruction of the Colonies. It had been her first time making love as an equal, mature partner. She was 52 year old now, and her body was changing, the level of  her desire and her entire response to sex was different than it had been, but that change was wonderful. It may take longer for her to reach that place now than it did twenty-years ago, but anticipation made the pleasure all the sweeter.

She couldn’t imagine what her life would have become if the Colonies hadn’t been destroyed. In fact, she would have no life at all now. She would have been dead from Cancer, cold in her grave for almost three years. Mourned by few, missed by one. Now. Now she had so much more, and the man sleeping next to her was to thank for it.  A tear slid down her face and landed on his cheek, causing his eyes to open. He smiled.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey, yourself,” was her reply.

“You okay?” He reached up and wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb.

“Yes. Very okay. Happy.” She lay herself back down and nestled into his embrace.

“I can’t say it often enough, Laura. I love you.”

“I can’t imagine life without you either, Bill.”

He stroked her hair as he felt her body slide into sleep and sighed. Some day she would say it. He knew that she loved him as deeply has he loved her, but something was holding her back. He could wait. He just hoped it wouldn’t be too much longer. He needed her willing to be by his side permanently.


	3. 21+  years before the destruction of the colonies

_21+  years before the destruction of the colonies_            

Twenty-seven year-old Laura Roslin sat at her cubicle in Mayor Adar’s campaign headquarters, gripped her hands into fists, tucked her chin to her chest, closed her eyes and smiled. She took two deep breaths, stomped her feet five times and sat back in her chair. Mayor Adar had just totally made a move on her, of that she was sure. He had come into her cubicle, sat on the corner of the desk, and smiled at her. That handsome, charismatic smile that (along with his platform, of course) had made him the youngest Mayor in the history of Caprica City, and was about to make him the youngest Governor in the history of Caprica.

            “Is this where I come to congratulate the newest Doctor of Education in my campaign office?”

            Laura smiled. “Yes. I didn’t think anybody knew. Thank you.”

            “I try to keep up with what’s going on with the people I work with, Miss Roslin. I’d like to come and observe you in the classroom some time, if I may.”

            Laura blinked, and had to work very hard to keep her jaw from hitting the floor. “Of course, Mr. Mayor. I’ll call your secretary and set up a date.”

            “Richard. How is next week?”

            “Next week?”

            “Miss Roslin. I never make idle chatter. I am quite interested in seeing you in action. I got my hands on a copy of your dissertation and am intrigued by the methods you’ve been using. I think we could have a real breakthrough on our hands if it works as well as you say it does.”

            “Well, Mr. Mayor, my students are presenting their individual topical projects on Monday and Wednesday from noon until three.” There was a challenge in her voice. It was somewhat difficult for her to believe that the mayor would really be interested in hearing what a bunch of ten-year-olds had to say on the historical events of their choosing.

            “Richard. I will be there Monday at noon, then. Miss Roslin, the education of our youth is very important to me which is why I insisted that Trinity bring you on board when we received your resume two years ago.”

            “You…”

            “You may not believe it, Miss Roslin, but I get the final say on every resume that comes through my office, whether for a volunteer position such as yours, or for a paid staffer.”

            “Oh… well… I guess I should say thank you… Richard.” She smiled at him. She had noticed that he occasionally threw glances her way over the past two years, and had developed a bit of a crush. However, she didn’t think he had any idea who she was or what she did, only that he had an apparent appreciation for a pretty face. It would seem she had been mistaken. “And if I am going to call you Richard, it seems only fair that you should call me Laura. ‘Miss Roslin’ makes me feel like a spinster schoolteacher.” She extended her hand.

            Richard took her hand, shook it once, then just held it for a second too long. He stroked his thumb over the back of her hand and looked for a moment as though he were going to raise it to his lips before letting go. “Laura. If there is one thing you will never be, it’s a spinster schoolteacher. Your potential is going to outstrip that title long before you ever get the chance to achieve it. I will see you Monday.” With that he strolled out of her cubicle and back to his office where he shut the door.

            Laura decided to go for a walk. She pushed back from her desk, grabbed her purse from the drawer and headed outside to the Riverwalk. This was her favorite spot in Caprica City. As a child, she would come to the farmers market every week with her mother and 3 sisters while her father and brother went fishing in the mountains. The smells of the market reminded her of home, and she strolled down to the fountain where she used to splash and play as a small child. The first time she had gotten away and into the fountain she was four years old. Her mother had been distracted and the soft spray of the fountain was too alluring for pint-sized Laura to ignore. She ran down the hill and right into the fountain and started splashing and playing. Stacey was the first to notice that she was missing and heard her shrieks of glee coming from below. She had run down and scooped her out, scolding her while holding her close. Laura had always loved Stacey best. At ten years her senior, she was also her closest in age, and the one to take care of her. Laura’s mother had been 45 when she was born, long after she had thought her childbearing years were over, and was not quite ready for another child. Of course her mother loved her, but she was frazzled with four teenagers and a toddler. Stacey had the patience such a rambunctious child needed.

            Laura slipped off her sandals and sat on the edge of the fountain dipping her feet into the cool water while she took her mobile phone out of her purse and dialed her sister.

            “Hello?”

            “Hey Stace, It’s Laura.”

            “Laura, honey, it’s so good to hear your voice! _No Penny! No. The cat is not a doll! Take that tutu off of her this instant!_ Sorry Laura, Penny is in one of her moods. “What’s up?”

            “Same old. My dissertation passed review, so my doctorate is in the mail.”

            “That’s fantastic! Congratulations. You deserve this more than anyone.”

            “Thanks Stace…”

            “Yes… Laura, I know that Pause. What’s up?”

             “Nothing… Okay, I do have something else… I think the Mayor has a thing for me.”

            “Mayor Adar?”

            “Yes.”

            “Oookay. I suppose I should ask the question. Do _you_ have a thing for _him?_ ”

            “Oh my gods, yes, Stace. I’ve had a huge crush since the day I met him.”

            “What happened?”

            “Well, he came over to my desk to congratulate me on my doctorate and asked to observe me in the classroom. The thing is, when he shook my hand, he held it a little too long and gave me this _look,_ you know?”

            Stacey sighed. “Just be careful, Laura. He’s a powerful man who is about to become Governor. He could really hurt you.”

            “I don’t know if anything is going to actually happen, Stace, I just want to enjoy myself if it does. He’s not Hugh.”

            “I just don’t want to see you hurt again. When Hugh walked out, I was afraid you were going to harm yourself.”

            “Yes, well, I was young and stupid. I shouldn’t have gotten engaged to the frakker in the first place. I should have walked out on him when I found out he was with someone else when we got together, but I so wanted what mom and dad had.”

            Stacey laughed. “Oh, Laura, you don’t know the half of it. That’s what we all wanted.”

            Laura held her phone out and looked at it, puzzled, then replaced it. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

            “I’m okay,” Stacey sighed. “It’s just that Jim got an offer that he may not be able to refuse, only it means we’d have to move to Geminon.”

            “Geminon! Oh no, Stace. I know how you feel about that place.”

            “Those religious fanatics make me crazy. I just don’t know if I can live among them. Raise my kids there, you know?”

            “When do you have to decide?”

            “Soon. We’re going to really hash it out tonight once the kids are in bed.”

            “Let me know what happens, will you?”

            “Of course. I promise to keep you in the loop, baby sister. You still coming for dinner on Sunday?”

            “Yeah. I wouldn’t miss it.”

            “Be careful with the Mayor, Laura.”

            “I promise, no hanky panky, Stace. He’s just coming to observe a class, he’s not coming to my house.”

            “Yeah, well, hanky panky doesn’t require a bedroom. Or a room at all, for that matter.”

            Laura laughed. Get your twisted mind out of the gutter Missy. I promise I won’t be frakking the Mayor in front of my students, or anyone else!”

            “If you say so.”

            “Goodbye, you nut. I’ll call you Sunday before I leave.”

            “All right. Love you.”

            “Love you too. Bye!”

            “Bye, sweetie.”

***

 _Monday, 15:30._

Laura Roslin ushered the last of her students out the door as Mayor Adar looked on while leaning back on the window from the rear of the classroom, smiling.

“I hope I didn’t make them to nervous. They were fantastic.”

Laura turned back to him and smiled. “They were, weren’t they? They were so excited and took such care. You’d never know half of these kids don’t have a decent supper most nights.”

“I know. I still can’t believe you _choose_ to work in the city’s poorest school. My security contingent was furious when they found out what I was planning.”

“These are the kids that need the most help. I hope I didn’t get you into too much trouble,” she laughed.

Richard Adar walked towards Laura Roslin very deliberately, making her stomach drop to her feet. “That’s why we keep you around Laura. You have more principle and dedication in your little finger, than most people do in their whole bodies. I hope we can count on you beyond the campaign.”

“Of course, Richard. I believe in you, or I wouldn’t work for you for free.”

“Good. Because I’m going to need a Commissioner of Education when I’m Governor.” Laura stood, speechless. This time she did feel her jaw drop. Richard gently closed her mouth with his hand and chuckled. “Don’t be so surprised Laura. I’ve been watching you for nearly two years. You are extremely intelligent, compassionate and you have not been out of the classroom. You know what educators need to make the system work, and that’s why I want you and not some administrator who has completely forgotten what it’s like to be in a classroom, on my team.”

“But I…”

“You won’t have to leave the classroom. You can still teach, at least part time.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Think about it, but say yes.”

“I will. Think about it that is.”

“Can I take you out for a drink to try to convince you?” Richard smiled and took her hand.

Laura gently took back her hand and smiled from under lowered lashes. “You can take me out for a drink, Mr. Mayor, but the second round is on me.”

***

Laura and Richard sat at a cozy table in the one place he could go and not be hounded by the press: his private club. At first, Laura had been somewhat in awe, having never been to such an establishment, but as soon as she began to sip her first brandy and the warmth of the alcohol began to drench her veins, she relaxed. A born and bred West-Sider, she unconsciously matched Richard Adar sip for sip, drink for drink. They talked for hours, largely about the Mayor’s plans for education reform and what he envisioned her role to be. He listened carefully to each of Laura’s ideas and impressed her with his interpretation and enthusiasm for her contribution.

“Your family must be very proud of your accompilishments, Laura.”

“I hope so. My mother, can’t stop talking about me to her nurses, and my sister has always been there for me.”

“Nurses?”

“My mother has breast cancer. She’s been fighting it for years, but I think she is losing the battle.” Laura took another sip of her fifth brandy, plopped her elbows on the table, screw etiquette.

Richard took one of her hands in his. “I’m sorry, Laura. I think I should have known.”

She gave his hand a squeeze looking at the contrast of their hands clasped together, his large and darker, hers smaller and paler. “No. It’s all right. I’ve come to terms with it. So has she. She’s lived a great life and has people who love her with her every day.”  She looked up and found herself staring into the deepest brown eyes.

Richard leaned in and brushed a whisper of a kiss over her cheek. When she didn’t pull away, he brushed another light kiss against her lips. Laura let her eyes flutter shut and leaned into the kiss, deepening it. They kissed without ever letting go of their clasped hands, before Laura “hmm’d” and pulled back.

“Richard, this is a very, very bad idea.”

“You’re right. I know it.”

She gave his hand another squeeze before releasing it. “I’m very, very attracted to you, but if I’m going to truly work for your administration, this can’t happen.”

“You are right, you are right.” He wiped his hand down his face.

“But Richard, I also like _you._ I hope we can still have conversations like this from time-to-time.”

Richard took her hand in his again and gave it a light squeeze. “I hope we can too, Laura. Let me call you a cab.”

Richard waved as the taxi bore her home. He sighed. Laura Roslin was his match in every way, he felt it deep in his gut. Until today, she had been just another fantastic volunteer in his office, granted an attractive one whom he’d been eyeing for nearly two years. He’d always been a little envious of her easy charm and way with people. His was the finely cultivated act of an ambitious, shy young man. Hers was the natural exuberance of a woman who was confident in every aspect of her being. Their five-hour conversation had made him realize that she could and should be so much more to him. Could she work for him and love him at the same time? There was only one way to find out. He was going to have to seduce her. Slowly, and in time. It could take years, but she was the woman he wanted by his side for the future.

 


	4. Just Prior to  the events of Crossroads

Chapter 4

 _Just Prior to  the events of Crossroads_

            Laura padded around the boxing ring in her bare feet, running her hand around the guard ropes. Waiting. She heard the hatch shut and the tumblers of the lock fall into place. Without turning to face the intruder she spoke. “Bill. You are a frakking idiot.”

            He stood at the hatch, not moving. “I know.”

            She took a deep, deep breath and continued her circuit around and around the boxing ring, never taking her eyes away from the hand that traversed the ropes. “Of all of the bad ideas…”

            He took a step closer, “I know.”

            Laura seemed to notice the stool in one of the corners for the first time and sat down, heaved a sigh, leaned against the ropes and threw her head back to rest on them. She squeezed her eyes shut fighting the tears that threatened to fall.

            Bill took swift strides toward the ring, ducked through the ropes and kneeled down in front of her. His strong, powerful woman was being reduced to her most elemental emotions and it was more than he could bear. She was wearing his favorite power suit. The one she wore when she wiped the floor with Baltar during their first debate. He placed his hands on top of the skirt that embraced her thighs and looked up at her pained face. “Talk to me, Laura.”

            She merely shook her head. Her throat was too constricted to do more than croak out a wheezy “no.”

            They simply sat like that for an unknown amount of time. Laura fighting her tears, Bill at her feet offering the only comfort he could. Eventually, Laura’s tears began to fall, silent tears at first, but followed by great heaving sobs of despair and misery. Bill sat up on his knees and wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head into her shoulder while she vented her desolation. As her sobs subsided, Bill took her face in his hands and kissed away her tears, gently, silently. No words were exchanged, because none needed to be. He knew what was in her heart and soul, as much as it tortured her, he wondered if he didn’t feel it as keenly, knowing as he did what it meant for their future. Allowing himself to love her hadn’t come easily, and he didn’t want to lose her. He sat back on his heels and took her left foot in his hands and slowly, firmly massaged away her tension, kneading the arch with his thumbs and moving over the heal and back to her toes, taking care with each one. He saw some of the tension ease from her body as she leaned her head back once again against the ropes. Watching her fall into relaxation, he moved to the right foot, giving it equal time and love.

            Laura’s breathing evened out as her body fell relaxed and Bill ran his hands up each of her calves, massaging as he went. When he reached her knees, he placed one hand on each leg and slipped them up her thighs under her skirt, pushing her skirt up with them. Laura’s eyes flew open and her lips parted as though to speak, “No,” Bill spoke for her. “Don’t say anything, Laura, just enjoy.” She looked wary, but allowed her head to fall back and melted into his ministrations.

            Bill pushed her skirt up around her hips, gently lifting her bum and giving it a light squeeze as he slid the fabric behind her. He was pleased to see that the President had decided to go commando today. There must be a problem with the laundry on Colonial One. She would not leave behind those precious, hard-to-come-by garments unless she was out of them. He ran his lips up the inside of her left thigh taking in the scent of her. She smelled of power, vulnerability, and sensual heat. She groaned as he placed a kiss at her very core. Gently, he kissed, licked and nipped at the center of her pleasure. He had to restrain himself to keep the pace slow, he wanted her to build and release without thought of anything but pleasure. Slowly, he used his lips and tongue to bring her closer and closer to her end. He could feel the build as she snaked her right leg around his back and let her left thigh relax open.  He looked up and saw her lick her lips and felt her breath hitch as her hands gripped the ropes of the boxing ring more fiercely. Bill redoubled his efforts, letting her sounds and little movements guide him. Another nip here another lick there. Her thigh tightened around his back and he used his tongue and lips to suckle her clitoris just a little harder and he felt her stiffen, and release a long, soft groan as she came. He looked up at her precious face and saw the tears falling down her cheeks. He pulled her off the stool and into his arms so they were kneeling face-to-face and kissed away her tears.

            Laura looked into his blue, blue eyes, her expression fierce. He always gave her what she needed, whether it was a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, or intense pleasure, but the ache in her soul made her want to punish him for it. For being everything she never thought she’d have.  Her life was spiraling out of control and here he was letting her blame him, and then giving her his heart and soul. What she wanted in this very moment was control, and if the only control she could have was over him, she was going to take it.

            She pushed him down, supine on the padded floor of the boxing ring and crawled up his  body, sealing her lips over his for a fierce kiss. She pinned his arms to his side when he tried to wrap them around her. She didn’t want his comfort. She wanted his submission. She tore at his uniform jacket, which was, thankfully, partially unbuttoned already. She pushed up his tanks and ran her hands up his chest pulling at the fine grey hairs that grew there. Laura lowered her lips to his flat, copper nipples and bit down a little less gently than was her intention.  His eyes flew open in shocked surprise. “Gods,” he groaned and she smiled. She felt him growing harder against her ass, and she moved her whole body down his, scratching his chest with her finely manicured hands as she did.

            When she reached the waistband of his trousers she unbuttoned them and pulled him free, sweeping her hand up his length and over the silky head. Bill groaned, and watched her with wary anticipation. She glanced up at his face through the veil of her hair and smiled. Not a smile of joy, but one of anticipatory predation. She lowered her head and placed a kiss on the tip of him and felt his body clench and heard his soft gasp. She gently slid her mouth over the length of him and ran her tongue up the under side. He reached for her hair, but she pushed his hands down in silent command. He complied, understanding her need. She devoured him, bringing him to the brink and backing off once, twice, three times until he groaned, “Please, Laura!”

            Those words penetrated the haze of her desire and she looked up from her task. Without speaking a word, she reached for the straps of his tanks and pulled him into a seated position. She kissed him with all the fury she felt at the universe and climbed into his lap, straddling his thighs.  He placed his hands on her hips in a vice-like grip, “Laura,” he cautioned…

            She placed her hands on top of his. “Shut up, Bill,” was her reply as she sank down onto him, bringing him into her moist heat. She grabbed his face with her hands and began kissing him fiercely and she wrapped her arms tightly around him as she moved up and down, back and forth, around and around, finding a rhythm with Bill that made her forget everything but the sheer pleasure of their joining. Her little groans and moans mixed with his until their rhythm became so fast and furious that the line between herself and him blended to the point where there was no way to differentiate where one began and the other ended. Their hearts and souls beat in unison, her thighs clenched around his and she threw her head back as they found their release together.

            Laura Roslin collapsed in Bill Adama’s lap. He gently slid back against the guide ropes and shifted her to his side, their adjacent hands intertwined, heads resting against each other’s. “Bill…” Laura began.

            “I know.”

            “But…”

            “We’ll get through this together. I promise.”

            “I just can’t…”

            “You can.”

            “Can I?”

            “Yes.”

            Laura sighed and closed her eyes, her anger at the universe slowly sliding away. She was, quite literally, the most powerful woman in the known universe and she had been felled by something smaller than a grain of sand. This man, her friend, her lover, her soul mate, saw her power and believed she could conquer it. She held on to his hand with all she had. He was her lifeline, her sanity. He knew what she was thinking before she thought it and was willing to act on it or submit to it, as she needed. She sighed as he planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head. There was nowhere else in the universe she’d rather be at this moment than here in his arms, on the floor of a boxing ring, on the Battlestar Galactica.


	5. Two weeks before the destruction of the 12 Colonies

Chapter 5

 _Two weeks before the destruction of the 12 Colonies_

            Laura felt the sunlight through the wall of windows warm her body as she stretched languidly among the crisp white sheets of the large bed. She glanced at the man next to her, still sleeping, one arm on his belly the other thrown over his head in an almost childlike fashion. She loved watching him sleep. It was something she rarely had the opportunity to do, although the opportunity had presented itself in the last ten years more frequently than she had expected. Since the time they lost Kate, it had been widely speculated that they were an item, though the press somehow decided that it was an issue they didn’t wish to pursue. Perhaps it was the tragedy of losing a child that struck enough of a chord with ‘those people’ as she had referred to the press for many years, to leave them alone. Adar’s numbers in the polls had declined when the whispers started, but after a few carefully planned photo ops with her and his wife, his numbers crept back up and seemed to remain steady.

            Until recently. This latest fiasco with the Education Alliance had hurt him in the polls at the worst possible time. His opponent in his bid for reelection had latched onto it as a hotbed issue, and the press were having a field day. Laura knew she could make a difference and get the students back in school if only Richard would listen. They had fought bitterly about it last night in his office, making their secretaries, who had been present, rather uncomfortable. They had parted angrily, the irony being that she was staying at his luxury townhome while her house was being fumigated. Termites were so inconvenient.  Richard hadn’t lived here full-time since becoming Governor of Caprica, but he had never sold his house. When she arrived in his home, for the first time she felt like an intruder. How often had she used this dwelling in the past 20 years? As a place for secret rendezvous, or a place to stay when various repairs were needed on her antique home; it had been a refuge, a place for her to recuperate when she had lost Kate, yet last night she had walked through the doors and wondered how this safe haven could now feel like a prison.

            She poured herself a brandy, but rather than pick up the snifter, she held up the crystal decanter and looked at it critically. How many times in the last twenty years had she and Richard shared a brandy poured from this very decanter? It was a valuable antique, almost 300 years old, a symbol of life and love to her. A drink from this particular vessel had always meant a night of delicious passion, sometimes sweet, sometimes cruel, but always satisfying. Tonight as she held onto it, she wondered how much longer they had. Twenty years was a long run. She had given up her hopes of a normal home-life to be with him, and she liked to think it was worth it. Once she realized that marrying Richard Adar would never be an option, the idea of marriage simply lost its appeal. Strange, since her entire life until that realization, she had hoped to find a happiness like the one she had thought her parents had shared. In that she was sadly mistaken as well. She sighed as she put down the decanter and picked up her snifter. She kicked off her shoes and padded off to the master bedroom. She took a sip of the amber liquid and felt the warm glow of its fiery tendrils flow through her veins, set the snifter on the dresser and peeled away her clothes. She felt dirty. Laura hated leaving Richard with bad energy floating around, but she had been so angry, she hadn’t known how else to leave. She downed the rest of her brandy, walked into the _en suite_ bathroom and into the steam shower. This was her favorite room in Richard’s house. As the hot steam swirled around her, she began to feel the tension of the day fade away, only to be replaced by a bone-tired weariness. The realization that their relationship might be entering its final chapter saddened her. She hated the thought that she might end up sick and alone, with no children and no family. Stacey and Jim had abandoned her to her fate when she had lost Kate, fueled by their new religious fervor from life on Geminon. Penny had run away last year and now attended Caprica University on a full scholarship. She came to visit sometimes, but she was angry at anyone who bore the last name ‘Roslin’ at the moment. Laura hoped she would come around. They were each the only family the other had left.

            Once the steam had done its job of relieving her tension, she turned off the faucets and wrapped first her hair and then her body in the soft, white, fluffy, towels that Richard always kept handy. Having money certainly made life that much more pleasurable. She walked back into the bedroom only to find Richard standing there in his shirtsleeves, a snifter of brandy in his hand, hers refilled and the decanter sitting on the dresser.

            “I didn’t want to leave things like that, Laura,” he said.

Laura clutched the towel that embraced her body, “Richard, I don’t know what to say. How can we ever resolve this if you won’t listen?”

“You have to trust my judgment on this one.”

“I don’t know if I can. We _are_ talking about teachers here. _My_ teachers, Richard.”

Richard set his snifter on the dresser and picked up the hairbrush that was lying there. He walked behind Laura and pulled the towel from her hair. Laura stood rigid as he slid his hand up her neck and began to brush her hair. “Laura, that man blew himself up and took out three police officers. The second he strapped a bomb to himself, he removed himself from the realm of ‘your teachers.’ He became a terrorist. And anyone who affiliates themselves with his group becomes a terrorist by association.” He began running the brush through Laura’s hair. “You represent something so much better. Don’t ever let them make you forget it.”

Laura hated the way her body responded to him, especially when she wanted to argue, when she wanted to hate him. How had the gentle, enthusiastic man she knew so many years ago become the hardened political animal he was today? “Jones was cracked, Richard. Stanz seems much more stable. I think we can get him to see reason. The bombing really shook the Alliance up. No one was expecting it.” _Stroke, stroke, stroke_. The hairbrush made the journey from root to end over and over again and her body relaxed into the slow rhythm. She sighed. “Stop it, Richard. Just for a minute. I can’t think.”

“That’s the plan, Laura. Let’s not fight.”

“We’ve only just begun to fight, Richard, if you think I’m going to let you seduce me out of this argument.”

Richard closed the space between them, walking her right up against the dresser. Dresser to belly, belly to back. He reached around and loosened her towel so that it fell to the floor. He slid his hands around her waist, moved his mouth to her ear and whispered, “fighting can be very productive, Laura.”

“Richard…” she breathed.

He slid one hand up her body to cover her mouth while using the other to unbutton his trousers and guide himself into her from behind. She was ready for him. Brushing her hair always did the trick, even when she was furious. It was a sensation she had never been able to resist.

She bit his hand as he began to thrust, furious at him for changing the subject so thoroughly, yet swept away by the flood of sensation. This wasn’t over by a long shot, but she couldn’t concentrate any longer. Their frak was fast and furious and left them collapsed together against the dresser. “Richard,” she warned.

“I know, Laura.” He disengaged himself from her body and led her to the bed. He undressed quickly and slid next to her, pulling her snugly into his arms. “You can have one chance and one chance only. If Stanz won’t meet with you and agree to my terms, I am going to crush them all.”

“How did this happen, Richard?” She turned in his arms to look at him.

“Who can say? You may have revolutionized the Colonies’ educational system, but not even you can pull money out of thin air.”

“No. I mean this.” She pointed her finger back and forth between the two of them.

“I thought we had resolved this ages ago, Laura.”

She sighed and flopped back on the pillows. “Yes. I thought so too. But how can the same man who held my hand and comforted me when I gave birth to his child also want to physically crush a gang of overzealous schoolteachers?”

“This is my fight. These people want to hurt me…”

“…and by extension, me,” she interrupted. “Richard, it’s no secret that we are lovers.”

“Yes. I wasn’t born yesterday, love.” He looked at her, hard, and saw a glint of something there. “What, Laura?” He asked, trepidation creeping into his voice.

She turned to face him. “Are we through, Richard?” she whispered.

“What? No!” His reply was sharp and furious. As much as he was drawn into the maelstrom that was politics, he was committed to their relationship. “How could you suggest such a thing?”

“I don’t feel like I know who you are anymore. What happened to the optimistic young man who ran for governor of Caprica?”

“He became the President of twelve worlds, Laura. I will never be that man again, but our relationship is twenty years strong. You are more of a wife to me than Samantha ever was.”

“Except that I’m not.”

“You are in every way that matters.”

“Are you saying that if I went against your wishes, you wouldn’t ask me to resign?”

“No. Of course not, Laura. I have an administration to keep in order. As Secretary of Education, you work for me, and I expect you to uphold my agenda. However,” he pulled her closer and gently kissed her mouth, “as the ruler of my heart, I don’t ever want you to leave.” He continued to kiss her slowly, tenderly, allowing her passion to build to a languid sizzle. He explored and caressed nearly every inch of her, and that was when he found it. He didn’t say anything. Oh, he almost did. He opened his mouth and quickly snapped it shut as he paused over that place at the base of her armpit. She held her breath, waiting for the question, but it never came. Only, if it were possible, his touch gentled even more and he brought her to a state of simmering ecstasy, making love to her as though he would never touch her body again. When they came together this time, it was not the furious explosion of earlier, but the union of two people who knew each other’s body as well as they knew their own. A familiar, but intense bliss that dragged them both into an abyss where they fell asleep tangled up in the sheets, and in each other.

 

***

As Laura propped herself up on her elbow watching him in the morning glow, she wondered when the question would come: before or after they made love this morning. Whenever they had the opportunity to spend the night together, Richard always took advantage of his morning erection.  In fact, some of their most creative moments had been in the early morning hours. She thought about the growing tumor in the tail of her breast. It seemed small to the touch, but she knew from her experience with her mother that it was just the tip of the iceberg, that its claws were reaching into her body sending out little soldiers to destroy her. She also knew that she didn’t have the will to fight it. Fighting cancer was such a painful, debilitating battle. Her mother had struggled with it for years, her quality of life poor at best, and still she lost. She just wasn’t sure her life was really worth that particular fight. _Enough maudlin thoughts,_ she scolded herself. Watching Richard caused a knot to form in her stomach. He had given some ground. Only the tiniest bit, but given his rigid political boundaries, it was a profound victory for her. She knew that if she had been anyone else, he wouldn’t have given her even that. He would simply send in troops and be done with it. She laughed an ironic chuckle. He was such a shit. She couldn’t believe she could love a man who was publicly such an ass. If he weren’t such an effective leader, he would never have had a chance at a third term in office. Privately, though, he still managed to rock her world. If only she could reconcile the two. Should she stay or should she go? Did she even have the nerve to go if that was what she chose?

  He stirred and stretched and reached for her, answering her question. Definitely after. He knew her well enough to know exactly where she’d be. He pulled her on top of him, opening his eyes and giving her that sloe-eyed smile that made her toes curl.  “’Morning,” he mumbled, pulling her down for a drugging kiss.

“’Morning, yourself,” she smiled, her heartbeat picking up in anticipation. Kissing him back. _Life is short. Enjoy it while you can._

Richard guided Laura down to his morning erection and she took him in hand, and slid over him while continuing their slow kiss. This was not the mad pace of their frak against the dresser, nor was it the slow tenderness of the lovemaking which followed Richard’s unintentional discovery of her tumor. It was the early morning lovemaking of a couple of twenty years who had suddenly realized their time was short.

He sat up so she could wrap her legs around his waist and kissed his way down her throat, taking a moment to rest his lips against her pulse, taking in the life that beat there. He gently, tenderly caressed her left breast while feasting on her right one, causing electric bliss to streak through her body. She picked up the pace and they found their rhythm until she found her release, to be followed by his just moments later.

They collapsed back onto the bed and she nestled her face in the crook of his neck. Time passed slowly, and eventually their breathing came back to normal. Richard ran his hand down her back. “How long have you had it, Laura?”

“A year. Maybe more.”

He pulled back and tilted her face up to look at him. “And you haven’t seen a doctor, have you?”

“No,” she admitted. “Richard, we talked about this when my mother died.”

“Yes, but I never believed…”

“You didn’t think I meant it, did you?” She shook her head and tucked herself back into his neck. “I meant it, Richard. I won’t put myself through that. I will take Chamalla until the cancer is too advanced for that, then I will take pain medication for the remaining time.”

“But what if it’s not malignant? What if you don’t have cancer and surgery will help? Just because your mother and sisters had cancer, doesn’t necessarily mean you do too.”

“Yes, it does. Where is my realist when I need him?”

“Please. At least go for a biopsy. Get a definitive answer. I can’t live with the what-ifs. I don’t want to lose you if I don’t have to.”

“You may have to, Richard.” He took her face in his hands and just looked at her. His eyes that usually hid so much, telling her far more about her value to him than words ever could, yet still holding back…something. She smiled that little, resigned smile that she took out only when she knew she was fighting a losing battle.  “Okay. I’ll call the oncology center today for an appointment. Will that make you feel better?”

“No. But it will be something. I’m not a man of inaction, Laura.”

“Yes, I am aware of that,” she laughed.

He buried his face in her hair, taking in that faint scent of ocean and flowers. He smiled a sad smile and closed his eyes, never letting her see how deeply this revelation affected him. He wanted to scream and cry from the rooftops, but he was Richard Adar, President of the Colonies. Emotions of the softer kind would be seen as a weakness, so he stuffed them down and prepared to find a way to let his Laura go in the not too distant future. He would do everything in his power to keep her from suffering, and the world would never see how deeply he hurt. He held her firmly, yet gently in his embrace, for a last few minutes before duty would call to them once again and they would go their separate ways.

 


	6. Just following the events of Eye of Jupiter/Rapture

Chapter 6

 _Just following the events of Eye of Jupiter/Rapture_

            Laura snuggled deeper in the covers of her bed. Her quarters on Colonial One were silent but for the low hum of the ship’s engines. She glanced down at the page she was reading, only to realize that she hadn’t taken in a word. She must have read this book at least four times. Oh, she had access to the electronic material available on Galactica, but this was one of those times when nothing but a good old-fashioned leather-bound and paper-leaved book would do. She closed her eyes and sighed. She’d frakked things up well and good. Bill was never going to trust her again. She should have told him about Hera from the get-go, but how could she have explained her highly irrational rationale? It had made so much sense at the time, but now…

Her secrecy may have torn apart everything that was holding the tenuous bond that had been slowly re-formed following the Exodus from New Caprica.

            It had been an awkward struggle to recreate their bond. Their relationship had been hot and heavy, moving like a freight train to an inevitable conclusion: a quiet cabin by a stream. Once she was no longer the President, they had even danced around the topic of marriage, but then the Cylons had reappeared and he was gone. She hadn’t really been certain he’d return. Everyone else had held out hope, but she wondered if it could be possible, and as the months passed and she was brought back to detention again and again, she came to the conclusion that she was well and truly alone. With every release, her determination to sabotage the Cylons and Baltar grew with a raging fury, and with every recapture, her knowledge that it didn’t matter sent her into further depths of horror. Her only comfort was knowing that the child was safe and hidden from the Cylons. They believed she was dead. Laura was one of the few people alive who knew otherwise, and she was the only person they cared about who knew the truth, but no matter what tortures they threw at her she would never tell.

****

She had only recently decided to put the awkwardness of their renewed friendship behind them by taking the initiative and barging in on a crew-only boxing tournament. They had very nearly resumed their sexual relationship that night, but Bill’s ribs had been too tender from his foolish overexertion, so instead they talked the night away, finally rediscovering that deep comfort with each other that they had previously shared. Now, however…

            She put the book down and closed her eyes. She wanted her freedom back. The freedom of not being _Madame President._ The freedom to love and be loved, to spend her days with a room full of eager schoolchildren. Before the annihilation of the human race, she had finally had to leave the classroom only when Richard had become President and she was promoted to Secretary of Education, but she missed it even then. Now that she had been back there, she mourned the loss even more deeply. Life since the Exodus was even harder than before settlement. Quarters were tight, and she was lucky to still have her own space. As President Roslin, she had more than she could have ever garnered as Laura Roslin, schoolteacher. As much as she yearned for the freedom of being simply Laura once again, the Presidential armor was a welcome safe-haven in times like these.

            Bill was furious. When he had stormed out of his quarters after her revelation about Hera, she had known that she had made a grave error in judgment. Her joy in the child on New Caprica, her despair over her presumed death, her elation at hearing the child still lived, all crushed in that one moment. The look of disappointment in Bill’s face was more than she could bear and she had quickly returned to Colonial One. She was never one to run from problems, but this was one she didn’t know how to solve and one she didn’t know how she could face. The emotions that simmered below the surface were threatening to break, but she reined them in firmly. She took in a deep, shuddering breath and picked up the book.

            No matter how many times she read this book, she was still surprised at the revelation of the villain. It would be every bit as shocking as if she or Bill were to be revealed as a Cylon. She laughed to herself, a bitter laugh. At the moment, Bill probably had more respect for the Cylons than for her. All she wanted was a chance to explain herself. She had tried, but Bill had cut her off with barely a word and left her alone. Again. Would he ever give her the chance to explain? Could she bring herself to tell him? If the Cylons hadn’t returned and their relationship had continued on the trajectory it had been on, she would have told him everything, and he would have listened. He would have held her in his arms as she relived her greatest grief, and likely consoled her with delicious lovemaking once her tears had subsided.

They had not resumed their physical relationship since the exodus. And now? She wiped away a lone tear. _This is ridiculous._ She couldn’t sleep, and hadn’t eaten in two days. Where was her pride? She laughed. _What pride?_ She threw back the covers of her small bed and decided to shower off her melancholy. Her bathroom was small, but well appointed with an adequate shower, sink and plane-sized toilet. As the water ran to hot, Laura looked at herself in the mirror critically.  She realized that they were at an impasse. One of them was going to have to break and she’d be damned if it was going to be her. She still had scars on her back, and though the deep bruises that had covered much of her body had long since faded, they were forever imprinted on her soul. She hadn’t broken for the Cylons and she would certainly not break for a mere mortal. From the outside, the casual onlooker would never know how mottled her skin had been just a few months before. Except for the scars, her skin was a smooth, uniform color. Bill would know though. If he could let down his guard, and she hers, he’d know immediately the horrors she had seen and been subjected to. He’d rage over each of the slightly raised scars on her back. Even with his current state of fury at her, he’d feel the pain of her abandonment and debasement. She was afraid that he might pity her, and pity was the one feeling she did not want from William Adama, which was why explaining her actions in the case of Hera would be so hard.

She stepped into the shower and let the hot water lull her into a state of semi-relaxation. She felt some of the tension release from her shoulders as a sob escaped from her mouth. She placed both hands on the wall and hung her head. Great wracking sobs ripped through her chest until she could barely hold herself upright. She stood there reliving the greatest tragedy of her life and no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop the influx of memories. She could barely take in a breath before another great heave tore through her body. The physical pain. The emotional devastation. They came into her, corporally, uninvited intruders: feelings that she thought had been dealt with long ago and then laid to rest along with the tiny body. But no.  That kind of loss never truly leaves you, apparently. She stopped fighting it and just gave in. It was getting harder and harder to breathe and she was afraid she was going to pass out. She let out a great anguished cry and let herself sink to the floor of the small shower, the water commingling with her tears, washing away her pain, yet again. She just sat there, knees to chest and let the sobs come. She didn’t know how long she sat there, but at long last they subsided and the tears slowed. She struggled to stand up again and proceeded to wash her hair and body as the sighing hiccoughs, the residual effects of the soul-shattering sobs eased their way through her body. She hadn’t cried this way since she was a small child, not when her sisters, brother, or either of her parents had died. Not even when she had lost Kate.

Laura turned off the faucets and reached for her towels. She looked at them critically. They were becoming worn with time. They were still soft, but the fraying edges belied their careworn condition. She shook her head thinking about how well that reflected her own current state of being. She dried herself off and flipped her hair into the second towel. Her blue silk bathrobe slid over her skin as she tied the sash. She shivered thinking about the last time something other than this robe caressed her skin. She blotted her hair dry and brushed it out, letting it fall over her shoulders and stepped out of the bathroom. She stopped with her hand still on the door. What was it with the men in her life showing up as she stepped out of the shower? First Hugh, to tell her he was leaving, then Richard, to tell her he loved her, and now Bill. What would his revelation be?

“Admiral,” she opened, her voice cool, expression neutral.

“Madame President,” he parried, stone-faced.

“What brings you to Colonial One? It’s after midnight.” She clutched the lapels of her robe, suddenly feeling too exposed.

“I want answers, Laura.”

This was said so coldly, so clinically, that Laura’s back stiffened. “We all want answers, and I’m not sure I can give you the ones you are looking for, _Bill._ ”

“Would you mind explaining to me why you made everyone, _myself included_ , believe that the Agathon’s child was dead?”

She walked past him towards the bulkhead, crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the window. She knew that mulish tone. Bill was worse than Richard when he got an idea in his head. No answer was going to be good enough for him now, nothing she could say would move him, so she decided on the one answer that always shut everybody up. “The interesting thing about being President, Bill, is that you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone.”

Bill grimaced and took a step toward her before realizing what he was doing. He stopped short. “Oh no. Not this time, Laura. I came here for answers and I’m not leaving until I get them.”

She turned to face him, the back of her legs brushing up against the banquette, a hidden support. “Bill. There is nothing I can say that will sound anything like reasonable to you. So why are you here? Just to fight? Because if that’s your objective, you could have waited until morning.”

“Laura Roslin. I have known you to be many things in the last four years, but a soulless bitch was never one of them.”

Laura’s knees buckled and she sat down hard on the banquette at the bulkhead. His words tore through her chest like a bullet, the pain far worse than the Cylons’ whip across her back. She gasped. Slowly she blinked. Once, twice, and brought her eyes up to meet his. “Get. Off. My. Ship.”

He stood in place, not moving. She saw various emotions flicker through his eyes, only to be replaced once again with that stone-cold stare.

“Now.”

He turned on his heel and walked out of her personal quarters. _Good,_ she thought. _Let_ him _stew for a little while. I’ll be damned if I’m going to kowtow to the high-and-mighty William Adama._ Laura sat where she was and took in great shuddering breaths. She began to shake. She sat where she was for several moments before realizing that the knot in her stomach was not going away. She barely made it back into the bathroom before vomiting her evening tea into the toilet.

***

            Adama strode into the shuttle bay with a mad fury. He couldn’t believe she’d kicked him out. _She_ had kicked _him_ out! He walked to the shuttle bay and his raptor like he had the devil on his heels, but every few yards he’d almost pause. Almost. He wanted to turn around and wring the truth out of her, but her cold, silent fury unnerved him, and he couldn’t face her right now. He was both furious and disturbed. Something niggled the back of his mind, some rumor or explanation, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. They hadn’t fought like this, in… perhaps ever. He took his seat in the raptor and nodded to the pilot that he was ready. _What, what, what?_ What was he missing? She had clearly been crying at some point before he arrived. It was possible he had been too hard on her, but gods, he was angry; and she! She was like a goddess in her icy fury. As much as he hated her in that instant, he also loved her, and wanted her more than he could ever express.

            As he paced his quarters, his stomach roiled. He still couldn’t put his finger on whatever it was that was just beyond his consciousness. When he had returned to Galactica, he had tried going to sleep but had tossed and turned for nearly an hour before getting up and going to the gym. He’d had the whole facility to himself and had run until he felt his lungs would explode. When that didn’t ease his mind, he had taken out his anger on a punching bag. Now it was 0400 and he was physically exhausted, but his mind was still racing. She was always going through the day’s papers with a mug of coffee in her hands by 0630. He would just have to face this head-on.

***

            When he arrived in her office on Colonial One at 0645 that morning, Laura Roslin was nursing her morning coffee, but was not in her usual place at the desk. Instead she was sitting in one of the passenger seats, looking out the window, oblivious to his arrival. He had met Tory at the door and sent her away with the excuse that she needed to talk to Lieutenant Gaeta to coordinate his and the President’s schedules for the next week. She had looked at him skeptically, but had complied. They would have some alone time.

            He studied her face. Her cheeks were sunken and her eyes were rimmed with dark shadows. She hadn’t slept either. “Laura?” he queried.

            She jerked out of her reverie, spilling some of her coffee on the floor. “Oh. Bill,” she started. Then remembering, she sighed. “Why are you here? It’s early and I didn’t sleep well.”

            “Neither did I. We really need to talk.” He took the seat next to her. “Laura, I said some things in anger last night, that you must know I didn’t mean…”

            She turned to look at him. “No, Bill. If you said it in the heat of anger, you meant it. You just feel sorry that you put it out there, and I threw you out.” She took a sip of her coffee and studied him over the rim of her mug. “We don’t know each other in the same way anymore.”

“Of course we do…”

             “No. You were away trying to figure out how to defeat an army with a battalion and I was trying to keep our people alive while fighting the Cylons. We have practically become strangers.”

            “Really, Laura? Strangers?”

            “The Bill I knew before the attacks would never have called me a ‘soulless bitch’ and walked away. He would have asked for an explanation without putting my back up against a wall. He would have listened. And then, if he still felt my heart was cold, he would have gone to the gym and pummeled some poor soul, probably his son, into the ground in a sparring match, accepted my answer and still remained my friend in spite of everything.”

            “I still want to be your friend, Laura. Gods, I want to be so much more. Are we really so far apart now?”

            She replaced her mug in the cup holder and leaned back in her seat. She closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. Her hand flopped down on the armrest. “So much has happened. Our experiences have moved us apart.”

            He placed his hand on top of hers and twined his fingers through hers. She tried to pull away but he held firm. “Tell me, Laura. Make me understand.”

            She held her silence for several moments before taking a deep breath. “I was involved with President Adar.”

            “I knew there were rumors, but nothing was ever substantiated.”

            “No. It wasn’t. But our relationship was _quite_ substantial. We were involved for twenty years. Good friends for more than that.”

            “I had no idea.”

            “Yes. Well…” she took a deep breath, _gods this was hard._ “We had a child, Bill.” _There, just spit it out._ She heard his quiet gasp and plowed on, looking straight ahead, feeling his fingers tighten around hers. “It was the third time I had been pregnant. Well, fourth, actually. I had an abortion when I was seventeen, but that’s neither here nor there. It was the third time I had been pregnant with Richard’s child. The first two times I miscarried early on, but not this time. I was thirty-nine, and when I found myself unintentionally pregnant this time, I wasn’t sure I could do it again, but Richard promised his full support and we decided to go ahead with the pregnancy. I was very nervous and conflicted about it. I mean, I had already come to terms with the fact that I was never going to have children, but there we were. When I first heard the heartbeat at thirteen weeks, it was the most magical thing I had ever heard and it was then that I knew I wanted to be a mother. We learned she was a girl and first saw her sweet little body on the sonogram at twenty weeks. She was a little smaller than average, but so wonderful in every way. At my twenty-seven week check up, I had been feeling achy and assumed I was coming down with something since it was the first bloom of spring. I told my midwife, just to be sure. She agreed with me at first but then decided to check everything out as a precaution. When we listened to the heartbeat, it was slower than normal and, even though she tried to hide it, I could see the worry on her face. She wanted me to go to the hospital for monitoring and a sonogram because she was having a difficult time getting a good read on the baby’s heart.” Laura took a deep breath and glanced at Bill who was watching her intently. She faced straight ahead again and closed her eyes before resuming her story.

 “When I arrived at the hospital, they put me on monitors and told me the aches I was feeling were contractions. The midwife on duty checked me. She told me that I was going to give birth to the baby that day and that I should call whomever was going to be with me for the labor and tell them to get there right away.

            “I called Richard first, never thinking he would actually be able to come, but he walked out of a meeting with the Governors of Geminon and Aerilon and was at my side within the hour. He held my hand the whole time. The Perinatologist came to see us in the labor room and told us that there appeared to be a problem with the baby’s heart that he had missed on my earlier sonogram due to the baby’s position. The defect was fatal and the doctor said the baby would probably not survive the birth, or if she did, she would live for only a few hours. He told us that in his opinion the best course of action would be for me to deliver the baby and hold her for as long as I wanted. He felt that calling in a resuscitation team would be fruitless and only delay our time with our child.

            “He left us alone to talk, and we decided to follow his advice. If we were only going to be parents for minutes to hours, we wanted every second to count. We heard the baby’s heartbeat begin to slow down, and the midwife came into the room to check on me. That was when my water broke and I suddenly couldn’t sit still. The pain was overwhelming. Was it physical or emotional? I can’t even remember anymore. Both, probably. Richard let me squeeze his hand so tightly I was sure I would break it.  The midwife, Tina was her name -- funny how I still remember that -- massaged my back and talked to me so softly. She guided me through the most tremendous and horrible experience in my life with such grace and sweetness. Richard was crying silently. I had never before seen him cry - and the staff handed him tissues as though he were any other grieving father, not the President of the Twelve Colonies.

            “Not long after that, I couldn’t bear it any more and I knew the baby was being born. Her heartbeat had gotten slower and slower over the two hours that I labored and we knew we were losing her. The midwife delivered her and laid her on my belly, skin to skin, and covered us with a blanket. She was so perfect on the outside. Ten fingers, ten toes, little blue eyes, my nose and Richard’s mouth. We called her Kate after my mother. The nurse and midwife took care of everything so smoothly for us. We were able to savor our little girl’s thirty-nine minutes of life. Thirty-nine. Every minute was precious. I had lived for her from the first time I heard that tiny little heart until the moment her heart stopped beating…”

            They simply sat in their seats, holding hands in silent communion as Bill took in the magnitude of her story and Laura recovered from the shock of saying the words aloud for the first time.

            “Thirty-nine minutes,” he repeated.

She could hear the sorrow in his voice, but found comfort in the fact that she could find no pity. “One excruciating minute for every year of my life.”

“And twenty-seven weeks; the same as the Agathon child at birth.”

“Yes.” She whispered hoarsely. She stood up quickly and attempted to dash away her silent tears, but her hand was still firmly entwined in Bill’s and he pulled her back down and across his lap. He used the pad of the thumb on his free hand to wipe away her tears and then tucked her head into his shoulder.

“But why…”

“Bill, the knowledge of Hera’s birth by the Cylons was a threat to our very existence. I had to make them believe that she was dead. I couldn’t let an unknown entity, the Cylon in your Brig, or her lover, raise a potential enemy. When it became apparent that Hera was strong and would live, I couldn’t have her killed, so I arranged with Doctor Cottle to replace her with a miscarried fetus from the morgue and for a suitable parent to be found for her.” She shifted on his lap and took his face in her hands. “I owe that baby my life, and I wanted to be sure that she was able to grow up with a loving mother who would raise her to be a good _human_. Maia was so deserving. It was her baby we used as the replacement. A more generous soul could not exist in the fleet, and I miss her.”

Bill took her hands from his face and held them to his chest. “If we had had this conversation when she was born, Laura, do you think…”

“…things would be different?” She sighed. “I don’t know, Bill. I _want_ things to be different. To be what they were. But there is no going back.”

“No,” he said so softly a chill shivered up her spine. “No going back. Only moving forward, Laura. No more keeping secrets.” His hand stroked her cheek. “I will be an open book to you, if you will be honest with me from now on, Laura.” He took her chin in his fingers and looked carefully into her eyes. Behind the shadow, he saw her acquiesce and knew that they would go forward together from here. He slid his hand to her nape and drew her forward. Eye to eye, he brushed his lips against hers and when her lips softened and her eyes closed he brought her right where he needed her.

The kiss was gentle and sweet, a renewing exploration of lips by lips. The attraction simmered just below the surface and Laura felt it working its way from her lips to her toes and other places she had almost forgotten about since the return of the Cylons. Her heart started to beat a forceful staccato, and she placed her hand on his chest to feel his heart’s corresponding fever. Their lips hovered, touched, and hovered again, a sweet sensual dance that left them both breathless. Bill skimmed his lips along her neck,  a feather of a touch, and she shivered, a blissful wave that shot straight from her neck to her pelvis. She nipped his lips, taking his lower lip between hers, letting him know that she was ready for more. He mirrored her gesture before sweeping his tongue into her mouth in   a long, broad stroke. Their tongues licked, tasted, explored. New tastes, old textures, entwining, then touching, then stroking. One to the other, the kiss went on and on. She thought they could kiss like this forever and she would be content. That is, until his free hand slipped around her waist and slid down to her bottom. She smiled against his lips as she remembered that Bill Adama was an ass-man. How could she forget? He gave a little squeeze and she pulled back, breaking the kiss, but looking him square in the eyes. She wanted to be sure they were doing this for the right reasons. They had been through so much, separately this time, and she needed to be sure.

He was an open book, just as he promised. His eyes held love and trust and respect, but most importantly, not a shred of pity. She shifted herself, hiking up her skirt and straddled him on her knees, leaned in and kissed his eyes closed, moved down to his cheeks giving each the lightest brush with her lips and then taking his face in her hands kissed him with everything she had. This was not the lazy, exploratory kiss of earlier, but one full of passion and hope. She felt so free of spirit having told Bill her deepest secret and now she wanted to free her body.

He unbuttoned her suit jacket and slid it off her shoulders while she fumbled to unbutton his uniform jacket. _Frakking buttons. Who designed these things anyway?_ Once she had the damned thing off, she sat back on her haunches to admire him. He had the most incredible arms and she wanted to feel them around her. Too bad her bed was unlikely to hold up to a good hard frak. They’d have to settle for the seats. She just hoped the leather wasn’t real. She reached down to unbutton his trousers and felt him reach under her skirt to divest her of her panties. His hands lingered, stroking her bum, moving downward and inward. He found her getting moist for him and stroked further and further forward until he came to that one spot; that little tiny clitoris that was responsible for such a flood of pleasure. He stroked her until her hips began to move in tandem with his hand.

            She moved and he stroked. He stroked and she moved. She kissed him lingeringly, brushing her lips against his with each stroke of his hand. The give and take was hypnotic and neither of them made a sound louder than the rasping of their breaths. She reached between them and freed his erection from the constraints of his trousers. He was as rampant as she had ever felt him and she silently thanked the gods because she didn’t think she could wait much longer. Laura gently removed his hand from its explorations and moved his arm to slide around her waist as she took him in hand and lowered herself down on him, slowly. They both shivered at the contact and Bill let out a tortured sigh that matched her own.

            They simply remained like that, not moving, getting used to each other’s body again as they kissed slowly and lightly. Again their lips barely touched, stoking the fire higher and higher. When he couldn’t take it anymore, Bill tightened his embrace and deepened their kiss. This time, Laura moaned, a low, satisfied sound and began to move her hips in the rhythm of the kiss. His tongue moved in one direction and she followed with her hips. It was a synchronicity neither of them had ever experienced with another. They had never even had this with each other before. Their movements matched, tongues to pelvis and continued slowly circling, in and out, up and down. They deepened and quickened as they each neared their peaks. As Laura found her end she bit down on his lip, pushing him over the edge with her.

            For some minutes they just sat there forehead-to-forehead, eyes closed, still connected in the most intimate way until their breathing slowed and they came back to consciousness. Laura gently lifted herself off of his now flaccid member and smoothed her skirt down over her legs as he righted his trousers and shifted her across his lap. She loved the feel of his strong arms around her. She could just sit like this for hours, but they had work to do. A whole new day ahead. She rested her head on his chest for just a minute more, listening to the slow thump-thump of his heart.

            “So, where do we go from here, Bill?”

            “Forward, Laura. Just forward.”


	7. 20 years before the destruction of the colonies.

Chapter 7

 _20 years before the destruction of the colonies._

 _Gubernatorial Inaugural Ball, bar._

            Laura smacked her hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles that came bubbling up. When she had gained something like control over her laughter, she turned to her partner-in-crime. “Oh my gods. You did not just say that!”

            “Oh come on, Laura. If someone had told you that when you were fifteen wouldn’t you have thought twice before having sex?”

            She laughed. “I suppose so. I wish _someone_ had said _something_.” More giggles bubbled to the surface. “What was I in such a hurry for?” She shook her head.  “I guess that’s why you’re going to be Commissioner of Health, and I’m not. What was that review in the Times? ‘Elizabeth Adar is quite possibly the greatest public health mind of our century.’” Laura took a sip of her champagne and laughed some more. For some reason she was finding life unusually funny tonight.

            Beth gave Laura a sucker punch in the arm. “What have you been smoking tonight, girl? Some birthday weed?”

            Laura gave a look of mock horror. “Beth! You have got to get your mind out of the gutter. Just because the ‘greatest public health mind of our century’ likes to indulge in mind-altering substances doesn’t mean I do too, even if it is my birthday.”

            “Right. And I’m the next Surgeon General of the Colonies.”

            “You will be, as soon as Richard becomes President.”

            “With you as First Lady.”

            Laura became very still, all laughter forgotten. “Where on Kobol did you get that idea?”

            Beth laughed at Laura’s conspicuous lack of humor. “He looks at you like he’s a cat and you’re the cream, Laura. You two spent more time _alone_ together on the campaign than is discreet, and if nothing’s happened between the two of you yet, you better start packing some condoms, because it’s going to happen soon. Tonight, if I’m not mistaken.”

            Laura shook her head. “You are seriously deranged. Get me some more champagne, will you?”

            “Only if you’ll join me outside for a smoke.”

            “What are you smoking?”

            Beth grinned wickedly. “Birthday Weed, what else.”

            Laura laughed. Really what were best friends for anyhow? “Okay. Fillerup. It’s not every day a girl turns twenty-nine.”

*****

            Laura and Beth returned to the crowded hall, making a beeline towards the bar, giggling even harder than before. Beth had managed to score some prime weed and Laura hadn’t gotten mildly intoxicated from anything other than alcohol in a long time. It was a nice change. “Uh oh.” Beth said pointing towards a figure emerging from the crowd. “Brother at three o’clock, gird your loins.”

            “Oh my gods, do we smell like smoke?”

            Beth leaned over and sniffed Laura’s hair. “Nope. You’re clear.”

            Richard Adar stopped in front of the two women and looked back and forth from one to the other. “You two are up to something.”

            “Us? _Never,_ ” Beth replied.

            Richard shook his head and gave his sister a kiss on the cheek while surreptitiously smelling her hair. “You’ve got the apple stuff tonight, don’t you?” He stood up straight again and took in Laura’s appearance like a parched man at a well.

            “Don’t worry, I saved you some,” Beth replied, handing her brother a small packet of the cigarettes. “Please dance with Laura, and then take her home and frak her already.” Beth shook her head, “I can’t believe you two are _still_ pretending you are not attracted to each other. I need to go find that husband of mine so we can get home to our daughter.” She glanced around the room before spying a familiar face. “You know, if you two started practicing, you could have a daughter to go home to, too.” She gave them a wink and a smile. “See you Monday, lovebirds,” and she left them to abscond with her husband while they stood there, slack-jawed.

            “Beth is certainly on a roll tonight,” Richard mused.

            Laura laughed. “When isn’t she? I swear it’s a wonder she has time to be good at anything, let alone frakking brilliant, given the whirlwind she is.”

            Richard smiled. He loved it when Laura and Beth spent time together. It loosened up Laura just a little and tempered Beth’s wildness. Just a little. “May I have this dance, Commissioner Roslin?”

            “You really shouldn’t call me that before it’s official, Richard. It’s bad luck.”

            He took her hand in his and brought it to his mouth, brushing the palm with his lips. He felt her shiver. “Luck has nothing to do with it. Dance?”

            “Yes. Of course,” Laura said breathlessly.

            He gave her hand a tug just as the band began a song with a slow, sensual beat. He walked them onto the crowded dance floor and pulled her into his arms. He brushed her cheek with his lips. “You’ve been partaking in Beth’s apple blend, too.”

            Laura pulled back slightly and gave him a smile that held promise. “Maybe,” she answered before pressing her body a little closer to his. She looked fantastic tonight and she knew it. The royal blue, floor-skimming, body-hugging gown was just low enough in the front to give a hint of cleavage, but it plunged so low in the back that panties were a no-go. Laura dressed for success tonight. Richard had been flirting with her more and more boldly over the last year and a half. He always concocted some trumped up reason for them to be working together, alone. He was wearing her down little by little and she had just about all she could take. She was ready to burst into flame if he didn’t make a move soon.

As they danced, Richard ran a hand down her bare back, his fingers barely touching her skin, and Laura got weak in the knees as he skimmed the dimples at the base of her spine. “Mr. Governor, you are being rather forward,” she teased.

            He lowered his lips closer to her ear and whispered as they moved to the music, “And you, Doctor Roslin, are making me ache.” He swung her around in a wide arc before she had a chance to reply, bringing her close to his body once again. “Just how much of my big sister’s weed did you smoke, Laura?”

            “Just a couple of puffs. She had a little half-cigarette that we shared. It wouldn’t do to get high at the social event of the season, now would it?”

            “Certainly not,” he smiled. “But there’s no rule for getting a little lit following the event. I don’t take the oath of office until Monday.”

            They continued to dance as the band moved through songs of varying tempos and melodies. Laura particularly liked the slow, sensual songs because it meant she could be in _very_ close proximity to Richard’s body, but she also enjoyed the up-tempo dances. Richard was a fantastic dancer and he had a fabulous laugh when he just let himself go. They had become such close friends, closer than she had ever thought she could be to a man with whom she was not romantically involved, yet there was always that current of attraction simmering just below the surface. He had introduced her to his sister, with whom she quickly became thick as thieves. It was amazing how rapidly and thoroughly they had clicked. Beth had, in a manner of weeks, become her closest friend. Laura didn’t have many female friends since she had become so involved with her mother’s care. Beth got it, though. She was able to understand Laura’s need to be so involved in caring for her dying mother without feeling threatened by it, and still know when a little levity, and the occasional substance, could be just what the doctor ordered— so to speak.

            After dancing five or six numbers together, Laura felt she should speak up. “Um, Richard? I think we are being conspicuous.”

            He pulled her closer, “I suppose you are right,” he whispered in her ear. He twirled her around and dipped her as the up-tempo number finished. “Did you drive here tonight or take a car service?”

            “Service.”

            “Can I take you home tonight?” The request was made with a hint of anxiety.

She realized he was afraid of what she might say. She looked into his eyes and smiled. “That would be lovely.”

“All right then. I should go mingle with the money for a little while. Can you meet me at my limo in an hour?”

“Of course.”

He leaned in and brushed his face against the side of hers as though memorizing her scent to keep him sustained for the next hour. “Until then,” he whispered.

Laura watched as Richard Adar, Governor-elect walked away from her. He spoke briefly with a woman in a black pantsuit and moved on to shake hands with one of his biggest campaign contributors. She smiled and made her way over to the bar. She asked the bartender for an ice water with a twist, and leaned up against the bar as she watched the goings on and sipped her drink. _This was going to happen. Tonight._ Her smile broadened and inside she did a silent little dance. When she had first started getting to know Richard, she _knew_ that any physical relationship between them could only lead to disaster. Now, she wasn’t so sure. But that could simply be the hormones careening through her body screaming for relief.

He had insinuated himself so fully into her life, becoming her friend and confidante. He’d even met her mother. He never really pushed the boundaries of friendship until about six months ago. He’d started flirting with her very subtly. So subtly in fact that she had almost missed it. He had gotten more overtly flirtatious as the weeks and months went by and she had begun reciprocating, largely because she was flirtatiously sensual by nature and couldn’t resist the game. She took another sip of her water, her eyes following Richard as the woman in the black pantsuit leaned up against the bar next to her.

“Hello, Joy.” Laura said.

“Doctor Roslin. The Governor asked me to give these to you.” The head of Richard’s security detail handed Laura two keys and an ID.

Laura blinked. “Are these what I think they are?”

Joy nodded. “A key to the townhouse, an ID for the club, and a key to his office.”

Laura took a deep breath. “Right.” This was moving fast.

*****

            An hour later, Laura picked up her wrap from the coat check and headed out of the museum where the ball was being held. As she walked down the steps, the chauffeur stepped around and opened the door for her. “Doctor Roslin.”

            “Lars,” she acknowledged. She slipped into the large auto’s dark interior and found herself embraced by the soft, smooth leather. She closed her eyes and sighed, kicking off her shoes.  Whoever had decided that pointy toes and high heels were the ideal in women’s shoes really ought to try spending a night in them at a ball. A few moments later, the door opened and Richard slid into the car. He saw that she was already there and smiled broadly.

            “Hey,” he greeted her.

            “Hey yourself,” she smiled. “What took you so long?”

            “Can’t a man be three minutes late?”

            “Not when he’s meeting a very tired woman.”

            “Not too tired, I hope.” He took her hand and kissed it, nipping it just slightly with his teeth.

            “Richard…” Laura began. But before she could finish he used his hold on her hand to pull her closer to him and kissed her, a gentle first kiss, but one with soft lips and tremendous promise. When they pulled apart, she half-whispered, “I guess that answers my question,” and she leaned in to continue the kiss.

            “One second.” Richard leaned over and hit the button to close the privacy screen. Laura caught sight of Lars’ slight smile as the screen went up.

            “Oh my gods, Richard. Lars knows what we’re up to.”

            “I don’t think too many people who know us are uncertain about what we are up to tonight, Laura. Are you?” He leaned just a little closer.

            She closed the gap between them and kissed _him_ this time. She pulled him close and tasted his lips, slowly at first, but she was so hungry for him after all the months of build up that she deepened the kiss almost immediately. He was no less hungry and quickly took over the lead. His tongue ran across her lips before beginning an exploration of her mouth. Hers followed his, but she wasn’t close enough. She let out a little groan of frustration, pulled away briefly, hiked up her gown and straddled his lap so that she could get closer to him. Richard wrapped his arms around her, his hands slipping under the back of her gown.

“My gods, Laura,” he began, “the back of this gown should be illegal!” He ran his hands down and curved them around her ass. “And you’re not wearing panties!”

She smiled wickedly. “I didn’t want to ruin the line of the gown. Was that wrong?”

“Very wrong,” he whispered in her ear as his hands explored her bum. He nipped her ear and she wiggled her hips just a bit in a hint to keep moving his hands. She grabbed his face and kissed him hard just as his hands traced their way to her core. He stroked the dampness he found there and Laura groaned, pressing her body closer to his.

The limo began to slow down as it approached their destination and Laura stopped the kiss. “We must be here,” she breathed. “It wouldn’t do for Lars to get an eyeful.” She moved off of his lap and into her own seat, straightened out her gown, slipped her feet into her shoes, and patted her hair into place while Richard made sure his tux jacket properly covered his burgeoning erection. The car came to a smooth stop, and moments later Richard’s door was opened. He slid out of the car and offered his hand to Laura who took it and exited the limo with the grace of one who had not been engaged in lascivious activities just moments before.

“Thank you, Lars,” Richard spoke as the chauffeur closed their door and headed around to the driver’s side. “That will be all until Monday. I’ll see you at 0600.”

“Of course, sir,” Lars replied as he closed his own door and drove the limo out of sight.

Laura followed Richard up the steps to his front door. “Shall we try your key to be sure it works?” he asked.

Laura, surprised, fumbled for her clutch. “Oh.”

Richard put his hand on hers, smiled and took the clutch from her hands. From within it, he removed the key ring. He closed the clutch and handed it back to a flustered Laura. He inserted the key in the door and pushed it open, held out his hand and smiled. “It works. After you.”

Still flustered, Laura walked passed him and into the grand foyer of his townhouse. _Old money,_ was the first thing that popped into her head. She came from a well-enough-to-do family, but nothing on this scale. Knowing as she did that Richard also had a large country estate about 3 hours out of town and a hunting lodge on Aerilon, she had to wonder what she was getting herself into. Beth seemed convinced that Richard was in love with her, but was that really going to matter in the long run?

Richard shut the door and activated the security system as he dropped the keys on a nearby table and walked up behind Laura, wrapping his arms around her. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Do you like it?”

“It’s beautiful, Richard. A little overwhelming…”

Whatever she was about to say was quickly forgotten as be began to place little whispers of kisses down her neck. She tilted her head to one side to give him better access and he responded by tracing hot, open-mouthed kisses over the places he had so recently skimmed with his lips. “Gods, Laura…”

“Bedroom,” was her reply.

“Bedroom,” he responded as he grabbed her hand and pulled her up the grand staircase to the second floor. The master suite was huge. Laura was pretty sure her entire apartment could fit into this one suite of rooms. “Make yourself comfortable,” Richard spoke as he walked into the en suite bathroom.

She kicked off her shoes and took the pins out of her hair, letting it cascade around her shoulders. She reached her fingers into her hair to massage her scalp, her hair having been pinned to within an inch of its life for most of the afternoon and evening and her head ached.

“Are you all right?” asked the voice from behind her.

She smiled and turned to face him, only to have her breath hitch in her throat. He was wearing a long, dark velvet bathrobe, and she was pretty sure, nothing else. “Quite all right. Hairpins.” She held out her hand to show him the pins.  “The price a woman pays for a formal night out. Well, that and pointy-toed shoes.”

He smiled back at her and beckoned her with the crook of his finger. “If you come over here, I might be able to do something about it.”

His voice sounded rough and gravelly and Laura shivered with want. “Just a minute.” She turned around and walked to the dresser, knowing he was watching the sway of her hips and the scandalous plunge of the back of her dress. She watched Richard in the large pier glass that hung above it as she dropped her hairpins on the dresser and removed her necklace and bracelet, carefully placing them next to the discarded pins. She saw the lust flare in his eyes and smiled. It was a secret smile. He had been flirting with her and pulling back for just a little too long. Laura was going to make him beg for it. She caught his eyes in the mirror and licked her lips as she placed her thumbs under the straps of her dress and slid them over her shoulders, which was all her dress needed to slip to the floor. She stood there wearing only a stick-on bra and a smile.

After the initial shock wore off, Richard was behind her in 3 quick strides. He placed his hands on her shoulders, never for a moment taking his eyes off of hers in the mirror. “You are incredible,” he half-whispered, lightly stroking his fingers down her arms.

“Yes. I am,” she replied, a woman so sure of her sensuality and totally in control of the most powerful man on the planet. She lightly touched his hands with hers when they came back up to her shoulders, but rather than following them back down her arms, she drew her finger tips down the front of her torso, lingering on her breasts, then continuing down to her navel. Stopping before reaching their supposed goal she walked them back up finger-by-finger and stopped at her breasts as Richard watched her ministrations quietly in the mirror. Her fingers danced over her breasts as Richard’s grip tightened on her arms. She felt his breathing speed up and his erection press into her behind through the thick fabric of his robe. Slowly, she peeled away the stick-on bra that kept her full breasts in line in the scandalous gown. She held the two pieces up in front of her and smiled, turning herself around and taking a step back from her would-be lover.

            “I wonder what I should do with these?” she teased.

            “Who the frak cares,” Richard responded, no longer able to keep his cool. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard, his tongue sweeping into her mouth almost immediately. She followed his lead, wrapping her arms tightly around him. They kissed and pressed their bodies tightly together as though they were trying to climb into each other. When they finally broke apart, Richard gasped, “Laura, I don’t know if I can go slowly this time.”

            “Then don’t,” she replied. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. “We have all night. That is, if you think you can rise to the occasion more than once,” she teased.

            “Let’s test that query, shall we?” He eased her back towards the dresser and lifted her to sit on the hard wooden surface. He quickly divested himself of his robe and took her face between his hands, kissing her, nibbling, sucking, tasting, until she wrapped her legs around his waist indicating that she was more than ready and willing. He guided himself into her. He wanted to go slowly, but those firm, wet muscles had other ideas. He held still as he adjusted to being fully embraced by her body, struggling with his control, wanting their first time to be good for her.

She dug her heels into the small of his back, urging him on. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “ _We have all night, Richard_. Frak me hard. Now.”

He needed no further encouragement, and as she leaned back slightly to find purchase on the surface of the dresser, he began moving in a slow rhythm. He felt her muscles clench after expecting, but not receiving a fast and furious frak. He ground his hips against hers until her breathing hitched up and small little moans began to emerge from her throat. He kissed her and picked up the pace, giving her what she had asked for in the first place. When he could no longer kiss and frak at the same time because he was so swept away, he merely held her tightly and sped up the rhythm faster and faster.

“Oh my gods, Richard,” came out between a moan and a groan, “more, more…” she was begging now, but he gave her what she wanted and he felt her legs tense even tighter around his waist just a moment before he felt her inner muscles spasm around him as she shattered into a million little pieces, crying out his name. He held on to her aftershocks and followed her over the cliff just seconds later.

They stood together, forehead-to-forehead, panting, bodies still entwined. Laura wrapped her arms around his neck and began to kiss him, slowly, sensually, lips seeking, thanking. “That was exactly what the doctor ordered, I think,” she sighed.

“Gods, Laura, you are incredible.” He returned her kisses gently, sweetly. They reveled in each other’s lips again and again.

 She leaned in to kiss him, then pushed him back so she could slide off the dresser. “As fun as that was, your bed,” she nodded to the huge four-poster at the rear of the room, “looks much more comfy.”

Richard gestured towards the bed. “Make yourself comfortable, but don’t fall asleep. I’ll be right back with treats,” he strode, unabashedly naked, out of the room and padded down the stairs. Laura climbed into the luxurious bed, throwing back the linens and leaned against the many fluffy pillows as she waited, anticipation building, wondering what exactly Richard meant by “treats.”

Laura was resting quietly in the bed, if truth be told, dozing just a little when Richard reentered the room carrying two trays. One with grapes and cheese which he set on the table in the sitting area and the other with a decanter, two glasses, and a cigarette he placed on the table at the end of the bed. He poured them each a glass of the amber liquid contained in the vessel, and stuck the cigarette between his teeth as he climbed into the bed and handed Laura her glass. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and placed it on the night table beside the bed. “Brandy,” he said as he tipped his glass at her. “That decanter,” he nodded his head toward the table, “was purchased by my great-great-great-grandfather. I never drink brandy at home out of anything else.”

Laura nodded sleepily and took a sip of the fiery drink. “Mmm,” she said as the first sip went down. “That’s lovely.”

“You’re lovely,” he replied taking a small sip and then kissing her lightly. He picked the small cigarette up off of the side table and gave Laura a mischievous look. “Smoke?”

“Is that one of Beth’s?”

“Yes. Her special apple blend.”

“Then yes. I don’t know what she puts in that blend, but it makes me feel…” she tried to think of the correct word, “energized.”

“Elppa root. It gives us the apple flavor and is a mild aphrodisiac.”

Laura laughed. “Of course it is.” She took another sip of her brandy, snuggling more deeply amongst the pillows as Richard lit up the joint. He took a drag and handed it to Laura who followed suit. “Gods this is good. Hmm,” she sighed, “really good. In fact, better than the one we had earlier.”

“She makes these special for me. Her regular blend has just a touch of Ellpa. This has more Ellpa, less weed. Perfect for a night of indulgence.”

Laura handed him back the small cigarette as she took the last sip of her brandy and reached over him to place her snifter on the tray on the table. However instead of going back to her place she remained draped over his lap, belly across belly, enjoying the relaxed feeling of being so recently fulfilled and just slightly buzzed. He handed her the cigarette and she took another long drag as he used his fingertips to trace the lines of her back, all the way down to her bum.

“Laura, you have a body made for sin. You are more beautiful than I could ever have imagined.”

She offered him the joint, but he shook his head, so she carefully stubbed it out on the tray and turned over in his lap so she could look at him. “I could say the same for you, but somehow I don’t think you need the encouragement,” she smiled her best come-hither smile.

He reached under her arms and dragged her up his body for a long, slow kiss. Laura reveled in the heightened sensation brought about by the drugs and alcohol, and quickly became a full participant. It was a battle of wills, each wanting to control the final outcome, neither attaining victory. Richard flipped Laura onto her back and began a soft sensual assault on her body. He kissed a trail down her neck, paying close attention to her every sigh and breath, gauging what she liked and what she loved. When he arrived at her breasts, he trailed around first one, then the other with heated breath before finally sucking one nipple into his mouth. Her groan of pleasure at the contact made him smile and wickedly, he ceased the movement. “Don’t you dare, Richard Adar,” Laura admonished. It felt so good. As far as she was concerned he could stay there all night. In fact, Laura was certain if he did, she’d come from the sheer joy of it. She held his head and moved it to the places she liked best, before nearly abandoning every other thought for the pleasure she was experiencing at the hands of the man who was her closest friend.

The thought startled her, but also reminded her of her wish to dole out some pleasure of her own to the man in her arms. She tenderly lifted his head from her breasts and pulled his face up to hers, kissing him, insinuating a thigh between his and rolling him over so that she had the upper hand. He looked startled, to which she could only reply, “Relax Richard. This will only hurt a little.” And she began to trail kisses down his throat and torso as he had done to her, stopping to nip and tease his nipples. When he responded with a deep groan of pleasure, Laura knew she had the advantage. She teased her way down his body stopping to explore the contours of his muscles with her lips and tongue, probing his navel and then moving farther and farther down, until she came to her goal.

His erection was straining and she swore it jumped when she lifted her head to look at it. She turned her face to look at his. He was watching her with an intensity that made her shiver, realizing the power that she held. She held his gaze as she dipped her head slightly and licked the tip of his cock. His eyes closed and he sucked in a breath. She lowered her head and slowly took him into her mouth inch by inch. She licked and teased and sucked while listening to his groans of pleasure. She smiled when he finally said, “Enough. Gods Laura, you are incredible, but I want this to be for you.”

He helped her slide up his body and rolled her underneath him. He quickly moved down her body until he reached his goal. She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh as he placed a kiss into the thatch of curls. Her heightened senses from the aphrodisiac-laced weed made each lick and suckle spark and fly through her body, yet the slightly depressant effect of the brandy kept her just this side of orgasm. She clutched at his hair, urging him on. She sighed with the lick around her entry, gasped as he kissed his way around her clitoris, and cried out as he sucked the nub in between his lips and brought her to the brink. She felt him smile as he brought his lips back up to hers, kissing her with his eyes open. She met his eyes as they kissed, and put her soul into her gaze.

“I love you, Laura,” he whispered between kisses.

She snaked a leg over his back and guided him inside. “I love you too, Richard,” she replied as they came together.

This time, their coupling was slow and sweet. One thrust was met by a kiss, words of love peppered hips coming together in a new rhythm for them both. As their hips ground together a moan was answered by a gasp. They pressed their bodies together again and again until Laura came with a cry and Richard followed almost immediately.

He pulled the covers over them and she snuggled against him, her head on his chest, one hand tracing up and down his chest. “I meant it, Laura. I love you.”

“I meant it too,” she gazed up at him with a smile. “You are my best friend, Richard. I didn’t want to love you, but somehow you broke down my defenses.”

He kissed her softly. “That was the plan.”

She snuggled closer. “Do you have more plans?” she inquired.

“Many. But if I tell you now, you might want to leave.”

“Never,” she laughed, placing a kiss on his chest.

They lay there in silence for several minutes touching, smiling, and simply being. After some time, Laura’s stomach growled. She buried her face in his chest. “Oh my gods!”

Richard laughed. “Hungry?” She looked up at him and he kissed her lips. “I _did_ bring up snacks. Shall I bring them over?”

“Yes,” Laura laughed with him. A little embarrassment was good for the soul.

Richard walked over to the sitting area and brought the food tray back to the bed. They proceeded to sit in the bed and eat the grapes and cheese that he supplied. “This is so good,” Laura said between mouthfuls. “What kind of cheese is this? It is unbelievable with these grapes.”

“The cheese is called _Fontanelle,_ and the grapes are from my vineyard.”

“Your vineyard.” She shook her head. “Richard, just how much property do you own, or do I not want to know?”

He laughed and leaned over to drop a kiss on her lips. “You probably don’t want to know. Brandy?”

“Sure.”

He poured a splash into one of the snifters and took a sip before offering it to her. Laura took a drink and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her sheet-clad legs. She stared off into the distance, lost in thought.

Richard took the glass from her hands and placed it on the nightstand. “Are you okay?”

She nodded,

plucked a grape and popped it into her mouth. “I think too much.”

He smiled and tipped his head to briefly touch hers. “It’s one of the things I love about you.”

She cocked her head to look at him. “You really do, don’t you?”

“Yes.” His answer was brief and simple, but the tone spoke volumes.

Laura heard all she needed to hear and pushed herself up to straddle his lap. She took his face between her hands and kissed him tenderly. “Then kiss me and make me stop thinking.”

Richard was happy to comply.


	8. Immediately following the fight during Unfinished Business

Chapter 8

 _Immediately following the fight during Unfinished Business_

            Laura poured a glass of water from the sideboard and took a sip.

            “Well, nothing’s broken, but you did lose a molar. You’re not thirty anymore, Bill,” Cottle explained.

            “Yeah, I got that.”

            Laura glanced over at the couch. “Do you want a drink, Jack?”

            “No, young lady. Just look after the gods-damned hero here, will you?” Cottle replied as he packed up his bag and stood to leave.

            Laura took a drink of her water and eyed Adama as he leaned back against the couch, eyes closed. “You really think your crew are a bunch of idiots, don’t you?”

            Bill opened his eyes with a pained expression and looked at her askance. “What do you mean?”

            Laura sipped more water, “Gods, I wish this was hooch,” she said in an undertone. “You threw that frakking fight. A blind man could see that. You didn’t think your crew, most of whom box regularly, weren’t going to notice?”

            He nodded towards her glass, “You gonna give me some of that? Hooch is in the cabinet.”

            She glared at him and thrust the glass towards him. “Here.”  She then walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a jar of the brew. _Fresh. Perfect_.

            “Thanks,” he grumbled and drank the remainder of the glass’s contents and set it on the table.

             She poured two glasses of the hooch, took a sip from one, grimaced as it burned its way down and picked up the glasses. She strode over to the couch and sat next to him, but not too close, and handed him one. “You’re going to need this.”

            They sat quietly next to each other for several minutes, not talking, not touching, not looking at one another. “I had to do it, Laura.”

            “Bullshit, Bill. That was the biggest copout I ever saw. You could have beaten Tyrol and made your point by walking away from a fight fairly won. Instead you let yourself get beaten to a pulp and gave another one of your speeches. Sometimes I think you talk just because you like the sound of your own voice.”

            “ _You_ don’t pull your punches, do you?”

            “Never. And neither should you. For a man who has outmaneuvered most of the Cylon fleet, you didn’t give this one a whole lot of thought.”

            They sat together, and miles apart. Lost in thought, the silence strangely awkward. The remnants of their tattered relationship hung in the air like battle-worn flag. They were both scarred and weary, but longed for their old ease. Bill patted the space next to him, saying nothing, and Laura scooted closer, tucking her legs under her and leaning her head against his shoulder, like old times.

            “I’ve missed you, Laura.”

            “Me too, Bill.”

            Bill turned his face just slightly to brush his lips against her hair. “It’s been a long time.”

            “Yes it has.”

            “You seem… different.”

            “Oh?” She looked up at him. “How so?”

            “I can’t put my finger on it. You seem softer, harder, more vulnerable, more self-assured. And about a thousand times more beautiful.”

            Laura smiled, a little unsurely and gently kissed his lips. “Hmm. That’s nice.”

            They relaxed into the couch and into each other. “Yeah.” Bill Adama was at a loss for words.

            “So much has happened. So much has changed. I don’t even know where to begin, Bill.”

            “Just start anywhere. What’s the first thing you thought about when I said you seemed different?”

            “That Cylon detention changes people.”

            Bill stiffened. “Detention?”

            Laura snuggled closer. “The first time wasn’t so bad, really. Then, they just wanted information and they didn’t think I had it. So I was questioned and released, but I had to stand in the freezing stream for an hour before I felt clean again. Cottle was furious. He wanted to know if I felt like dying from hypothermia that day.”

            “The _first_ time? You were there more than once?”

            “Several times, actually,” she shifted slightly on the couch. “But it’s nothing, Bill.”

            “So you say.”

            “When the time is right…”

            The silence became uncomfortable, and Bill nearly squirmed in his seat. “What else?”

            “What else, what?”

            “What else did you think about?”

            “That everyone has changed.”

            “You think?”

            “Don’t be obtuse, Bill.”

            “I’m just trying to understand. I’m not going to make you talk about anything you’re not ready to reveal, but I want to know what you’re thinking.”

            Laura sighed and closed her eyes. “I never wanted to be President. I never had any ambitions beyond teaching, and perhaps having a family of my own one day, until I met an idealistic young Mayoral candidate who convinced me I could make a difference.”

            “Adar?”

            “Yes. Before all of this,” she waved her hand in a circle, “I was simply ‘Laura’ to everyone. ‘Miss Roslin’ to my students, and later, ‘Dr. Roslin.’ I never in my wildest dreams imagined becoming ‘Madame President.’” Adama squeezed her hand. “I miss myself.”

            “Yourself?”

            “The woman with friends and a family. On New Caprica, before the Cylons, I was finding that woman again. I was still the former President, but I was just a human being who was struggling to survive, like everyone else. Being President is lonely, Bill. You are my only real friend, and I miss you.”

            Bill planted a thoughtful kiss in her hair. “I’ve missed you too, Laura. When we jumped away, all I could think of was that I was leaving _you_ behind. I was leaving so many people I loved behind, and the only face I could see was yours.”

            Laura smiled. “You _do_ say the sweetest things.” She snuggled closer to him for a moment before lifting her head to kiss him. She placed a soft kiss on his lips, and he responded in kind.

They explored each other’s lips lightly for several moments before Bill made a move to deepen the kiss by pulling her closer. A streak of pain jolted him and he grimaced. “Cottle’s right. I’m not thirty anymore.”

Laura laughed. “No, neither of us are, but would you want to be?”

“Gods no!” Adama laughed with her. “I was young and impulsive in those days. Not exactly fleet-leading material.”

“Me neither. I made some bad choices in my thirties.” She made a face. “Okay, and in my forties. If the world hadn’t come to an end, I like to think I could have righted some of them, but I don’t know. I was pretty trapped in what I had created.”

Adama gave her a puzzled look before tightening his arm around her shoulder. “We are all trapped in worlds of our own creation, Laura. But if we truly want to, we can break the shackles we create.”

She sighed. “I suppose you are right. When I came to decommission Galactica, I truly believed that I was making a new start.” She shook her head. “And I guess I did. Or rather, the Cylons forced me to. But instead of gaining freedom, I got a new pair of shackles.”

“Do you really see yourself as trapped, Laura?”

“No. Not really. Not any more. I _want_ the job now. In many ways I like being a leader, but I’ve missed my friend. I’ve missed you. I’ve missed our closeness and our trust.”

“I still trust you with my life, Laura, not to mention my heart.”

Laura simply tucked her head against his shoulder. “You give your heart too freely, Bill.”

“Perhaps. But there is a great freedom in loving, Laura. You never feel trapped by your life when you love freely.”

She sighed. “I disagree, Bill. Love can trap you.”

“That’s not love. Love is dependable and strong. It keeps you going when the world is falling apart.”

“No. Love is a rollercoaster and you never know what is over the next hill.”

“That’s not love, Laura. I know you can’t see it, but what we have is love. Trust, respect, friendship. Knowing you can depend on me to have your back. That’s love.”

“We have very different experiences of love.”

“I’m beginning to wonder if you have _any_ experience with love,” Bill retorted. Laura bristled. “No,” Bill continued, “I don’t pretend to know all there is to know about your past, Laura, but I do hope someday you’ll share it with me. I just _know_ that what you think of love isn’t love. There are many different kinds of love, family love, parental love, friendly love, passionate love. But the one thing that makes them all love is that no matter what the gods throw at you, a person who loves you will always be there to pick you up when you fall. They forgive your mistakes, and love you in spite of your flaws.”

Laura shrugged. “That’s a lovely fantasy, Bill. But love is a construct that doesn’t exist. It’s a fantasy. Trust and friendship… are they love? Perhaps. But we use ‘love’ to describe too many things. So many things, in fact that it can’t possibly exist.”

“I think you’ve been hurt and don’t want to risk your heart. But nothing exists without its opposite. After what the fleet has been through, we may not have tomorrow. Do you really want to keep your heart to yourself?”

Laura sat up away from him, and looked Bill in the eye. “My heart is not mine to give, nor yours to take. If what we have is love, to you, then it is love. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt for another human being the way I feel about you. I _have_ loved, and while I don’t want to say that that was a cheap imitation of this,” she gestured between the two of them, “because it was very deep and profound, I don’t know how to categorize what we have. I trust you with something far more precious to me than my heart, Bill. I trust you with my _soul_.”

Bill took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers before pulling her back against him. “I know what that means to you, and I couldn’t be more honored.”

Laura relaxed back into the couch and into him. She lightly stroked her hand down his chest. “How are your ribs?” She needed to break the oppressive seriousness that filled the room.

            Bill took a sip of his hooch. “Okay, I suppose. That shot that Jack gave me seems to be kicking in, and there’s nothing like pure alcohol to make you forget your pain.”

            Laura followed suit, taking a drink from her own glass, her fingers lightly stroking his jacket. “It’s almost funny.”

            “What?”

            “That you’ve become the philosopher, counseling me about love and relationships.”

            “I am old and wise. Just ask my crew.”

            “Your crew is biased. Most of them would walk through hell for you.”

            “Hunh,” Bill grunted before taking another sip. “And your staff wouldn’t do the same?”

            Laura thought for a moment. “I suppose they would. Especially now. Before the Occupation, I believe they were loyal to a point, but now, _I_ would walk through hell for _them._ Before New Caprica, they were my staff, now they are my family.” Her voice broke on the last word.

            Bill lifted her chin with his fingers, wanting to look her in the eye, “I miss Billy too, still. I never regretted any decision as much as the one I made that took him from you.”

            Laura gave him a watery smile. “I know. He was the son I never had. It’s so strange how the space of a year can bring you so close to someone. You know, the first time I met him was on my way to Galactica.”

            “I know. He was a special kid. When you are in a position of leadership, it’s not uncommon for those who follow you to become a family of sorts.”

            “I think that is more true on a ship when you can’t escape from the people you work with than in a political administration where everyone is trying to forward their own agenda.”

            “Why am I not surprised that Adar’s administration was fractured?”

            “Oh. I wouldn’t say fractured. We were all very different. Some of us were very close. I guess some were even like family. Just not in the same way that you’ve experienced it. Nor, I suppose, the same way I have come to experience it.”

            “Would you care to elaborate?”

            “Not really,” she sighed before finishing off her glass of hooch and leaning forward to place it on the table. “I’ve always been something of a workaholic, but I never spent much time analyzing the relationships I had with my coworkers.”

            “I don’t think any of us spend our days analyzing…”

            “Really, Bill,” she interrupted, “don’t dig yourself into a hole. I know you too well.” Laura yawned, the combination of the excitement of ‘the dance’ and the hooch was exhausting.

            “You do.” He stroked her hair and watched her eyes flutter shut. “Which is why I give you my heart.”

            “Hmm,” she acknowledged sleepily, “I suppose it’s a responsibility I’m willing to take on.” She snuggled her face into his chest. “I…”

            “Yes?” He wondered if she had fallen asleep.

            “I’ll do my best to be worthy of it.” Her words were slurred with exhaustion.

            “You’ve more than proven yourself worthy, a hundred times over.”  Bill continued to stroke her hair, watching her chest rise and fall.

            She smiled, eyes closed. “You _really_ do say the sweetest things.”

            They continued to sit quietly on the couch, snuggled together. Bill kept stroking her hair as her breathing took on the even rhythm of sleep. Holding her while she slept, he was sure she had not had such an unguarded moment since before the Cylons reappeared. When a cramp in his back would no longer tolerate his position on the couch, he took her in his arms, wincing slightly, and carried her over to his rack. He carefully divested her of her pumps and jacket before tucking the covers around her. Admiral William Adama stood quietly by the bed watching the goddess who had captured him sleep the first peaceful sleep she had had in months and smiled. President. Prophet. Lover. Not only did she hold his heart, but he was beginning to suspect for the first time in his life that souls really did exist, and she was the keeper of his.

 

 

 


	9. 15 years before the destruction of the Colonies.

Chapter 9

 _15 years before the destruction of the Colonies._

            Laura gazed out of the wall of windows opposite her bed and watched the snow fall. Tears spilled down her face, blurring the vista briefly before she wiped them away. It had been snowing hard for three days straight, and the woods outside her window were a soft, winter wonderland. This glass wall in the master bedroom was what had spurred her into buying the house five years ago. She’d never bothered with window dressings. The woody vista was magnificent and there was no one but the bears to see in. Her nearest neighbor was a mile away, yet she was just a twenty-minute drive from Caprica City. The house was barely more than a six room cottage, but it was her haven.

            More bitter tears overflowed from her eyes, and she took a sip of water from the cup she held in her hand. She glanced over at the water pitcher on her nightstand. Nearly empty. She’d have to fill it up. The only things she’d gotten out of bed for in the past three days were to pee and refill her pitcher. She hadn’t eaten, hadn’t slept, had never felt more wholly alone and empty than she did at this moment. There was no one left. Stacey had abandoned her, thanks to her new religious fervor, appalled at her out-of-wedlock pregnancies, mom was dead, as were two babies; and today he was marrying someone else. Her breath hitched and she pulled her comforter up over her shoulders as she remembered that conversation, just months ago.

 _“You’ve got to marry her,” she whispered._

 _Richard stroked a hand down her back, still languid from their recent lovemaking. “I can’t.”_

 _“You can. It’s the only way. Do you want to be President or not?”_

 _“You know I do. But at this price?”_

 _“I can’t see that you have any other choice unless you are willing to give up a lifetime of ambition for_ this _.” She waved her hand between them._

 _“It’s not a choice I should have to make, gods damn it! I should have convinced you to marry me a long time ago. Then that bastard would have find some other bargaining chip. I can’t believe he’s willing to sacrifice his daughter on the altar of power. She doesn’t even like me! And what will happen when she discovers she’s merely a pawn in her father’s political game?”_

 _“When you’re President, you won’t have to explain yourself to anyone,” Laura smiled gently caressing his face. “I’d be surprised if she didn’t know it already.” She kissed him. “Besides, you know I never wanted a ring.”_

 _“What utter bullshit. You love me. I love you. I should have married you years ago. It’s my own damned fault for not trying harder.” He kissed her back. What started out as a gentle kiss of regret soon turned into one of breathless passion. After some moments, Richard broke off. “We could still be together, discreetly.”_

 _Laura shook her head in that way she had whenever someone made a statement that she did not want to hear. “Oh no, Richard. Victor Ackland has decided you will be his future son-in-law. We cannot be together at all.”_

 _“But…”_

 _“No buts. It has to be this way. He’ll make your life hell if he thinks you have someone on the side. He might have you killed if he knows it for sure.” She added in a whisper, “He could kill us both.”_

 _He sighed, punching a fist into the coverlet. Victor Ackland was the ‘People’s Prince,’ a man who had risen from the obscurity of a crop picker to wealth and power though questionable means. He championed the rebellion of the poorer colonies against the richer. He’d funded terrorist cells like the one that brought ‘freedom fighters’ like Tom Zarek to prominence. No one could prove anything, of course, but he was a living legend. The lesser colonies didn’t make a move, political or otherwise, without his say-so. When he had decided that a marriage between new money and old was the answer to securing his legacy, Richard Adar became his target._

 _“Richard, tomorrow morning I’m leaving this house and making a statement to the press that we have ended our relationship. You will wait two days and then go to the Ackland estate to propose. Gods,” she threw herself back against the pillows, “I don’t want this any more than you do, but it’s the only way.”_

 _Richard pulled her into his arms and kissed her. It was a desperate kiss unlike the sweet ones they had shared just minutes before. “I think I’d rather be dead.”_

 _“Don’t be absurd.”_

 _“I just can’t see it. Married to someone else?”_

 _“I’d rather have you married to another woman than have everything we, and everyone else who believes in you, have worked for all of these years, collapse.”_

 _He shook his head, “A political alliance only._ You _will always be the one in my heart, Laura”_

 _“I know,” she said, placing a kiss on his chest._

 _***_

Laura had initially gotten up merely to walk into her bathroom to refill her pitcher, but she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and realized that three days without sleeping or bathing had not done her any favors. If nothing else, the glance reminded her that this wedding day was as much her own fault as Richard’s. If she had accepted his proposal of marriage five years ago, they wouldn’t be in this predicament now. Her heart clenched and she looked through the open bathroom door at the phone on her nightstand. These were the times when she desperately wished she could call her mother. Even throughout her illness, her mother had always known the right things to say. She was able to put a positive spin on the worst of situations until the very end.

She shook her head. A hot shower would clear the cobwebs. Maybe then some food. _And wine. Definitely wine_. She grabbed fresh towels from the linen closet and ran the shower steaming hot before stepping in. She washed her face with her favorite, very expensive, cleanser and felt one step closer to herself. She chose an invigorating mint shampoo and conditioner to revive her limp locks and washed from head to toe with a wonderfully luxuriant cleanser. On the way down her body, she realized that her legs were in desperate need of a shave, so she took care of that too.

Laura wrapped herself in a fluffy grey towel in the steamy bathroom, and used the palm of her hand to clear the fog from her mirror. She slathered moisturizer on her face before eyeing herself critically. At thirty-four, she still looked quite young. No wrinkles or fine lines had yet to grace her face, unlike some of her friends. She chuckled to herself when she thought about last year’s Adar family ski trip. Then, she had been firmly ensconced in the Adar clan as Richard’s long-time significant other, and probable eventual bride. While the men took the children sledding, she sat in front of the fire with a cup of cocoa. Beth had thrown herself on the couch beside her and bitterly lamented the tortures of ageing.

            “ _Promise me something?” Beth began._

 _Laura looked up from her mug. “Maybe…”_

 _“When my boobs reach my knees, just shoot me. It’ll be kinder.”_

 _Laura laughed. “If you say so. But what will I say to the judge?”_

 _“Says the woman without a single damned wrinkle on her face. I swear, you don’t age.”_

 _“Nonsense. We Roslin women simply die young,” Laura joked._

 _“Bite your tongue!”_

 _Laura chuckled. “If I don’t have a sense of humor about it, I’m just going to be depressed. A family doesn’t lose three of five women to cancer without it affecting your outlook.”_

 _“I know.” Beth grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I suppose I should stop complaining about my increasing defeat by gravity.”_

 _“Complain away. You’ve got the hardware to keep it a secret. But I will happily commiserate. I’m sure my time for complaining isn’t that far away.”_

 _Beth looked Laura up and down and laughed. “Well, maybe after a couple of kids of your own. I don’t know what possessed me to have a third. Everyone always told me it was number three that does in your body. They were right.”_

 _“Three, eh? I’ll keep that in mind.” She smiled at her friend._

 _“You know, Laura, next time I put my foot in my mouth like that, just hit me.”_

 _“No worries. I’m moving on.”_

 _“How’s the Lisothen? Any problems?”_

 _“Not a one. If I was experiencing unpleasant side effects I would go ahead with the tubal. But it seems to be working out.”_

 _“Good. I’m glad.”_

 _“Well, your brother can be quite persuasive.”_

 _“Don’t I know it.” They laughed._

 _A thumping at the door indicated the return of the tobogganers. “I think the marauding hordes are back. I’d better go get the baby,” Beth said._

 _“All right. I’ll heat up more cocoa. I think we’re going to need it!”_

 _***_

Laura glanced at the clock, as she finished drying her hair. 15:32. The ceremony would have started by now. She pondered her relationship with Richard Adar, as she slipped into her clothes. She had made it work. Her stint as Commissioner of Education continued to be a rousing success. Her overhaul of Caprica’s education system had helped reduce the dropout rate by just over half. She’d like to see the rate drop even farther, but one step at a time. It had been awkward at first, around the office. Her relationship with Richard had been a very public, well-documented one, and when it ended speculation had been rampant about how long the governor had been cheating on her and whether or not she would resign from the government.

When it became apparent that she was not going anywhere, more speculation whipped around. Was the affair actually over? She was followed everywhere for the next several months by paparazzi and private investigators alike, all hoping to catch her and the governor in an indiscretion. The papers had even headlined that their relationship was well and truly over during one particularly slow news week.

Laura slipped into a robe and padded into the living room to turn on the stereo. She flipped through her selections and decided that a blast from the past would do her a world of good. She selected a mix of thrumming dance music that included a handful of selections from her teen years and turned up the volume until her little house shook. She strolled into the kitchen to make herself an omelet, moving her body in time to the music, as she cut up vegetables and whipped up the eggs. As she slipped the completed concoction out of the pan and onto her plate, the song that was playing when Richard first swept her onto the dance floor at his inaugural ball came on. She reached for the phone to call Beth, then stopped short. Beth may have ferociously opposed this union, but she would be at the ceremony. She’d have had no other choice. Laura stood at the counter and took a bite of her eggs. After she had released her statement to the press effectively ending the relationship between herself and Richard Adar, she had received a furious phone call from her dear friend. __

 _“What happened? What did he do?” she demanded._

 _“It’s not him, Beth. He didn’t do anything. It was necessary. You need to talk to him.”_

 _“I don’t want to talk to him. I want to talk to you. I love my brother, but I expect a more straightforward explanation to come from you. He’ll give me the runaround.”_

 _Laura held out the phone and looked at it for a moment, as though she could pull her friend to her through the line. Her voice hitched. “It’s the Acklands.”_

 _“Frak!” Beth swore. “That bastard and his little bitch finally did something, didn’t they?”_

 _“Beth!” Laura was shocked at her friend’s profanity. Beth was a rule-breaker, but her language was generally clean. These harsh words indicated something very dire._

 _“I’m sorry, sweetie, but that asshole has been after my brother for his daughter practically since the day she was born! She’s barely twenty years old.”_

 _“I know. But as it stands, it’s the only way for Richard to become President. If he doesn’t have Ackland’s support, his political career ends with his term as governor. I don’t want that. He doesn’t want that. Do you?”_

 _“Gods no,” she groaned in utter frustration, “but you are his wife. It was always meant to be that way.”_

 _“Perhaps; but it seems the gods have other plans.”_

 _Beth made a sound as though she was going to argue, but sighed and continued. “What will you do?”_

 _“The same thing I’ve always done. I’ll continue to do my job. Beth, I love Richard, but I also believe in him and his ideals, and I will continue to work for him and be a part of his government for as long as he’ll have me.”_

 _“But…”_

 _“I can do my job. The reality is that without our relationship, the Commissioner of Education and the Governor don’t need to have that much face time together. As long as Richard doesn’t fire me, I’m not going anywhere.”_

 _“Gods, Laura,” Beth complained, “I wish I could just come over and hug you. I can’t imagine how I would feel if I had to suddenly give up Mike to keep him from disappearing, literally or figuratively.”_

 _Laura half-sobbed, half-laughed, “It’s not something I would wish on anyone, and truth be told, I’ve had my share of alcohol today, but tomorrow I will put on my suit and go to work. I will plaster a smile on my face and do my job.”_

 _“Oh, hon. Can you come for dinner tomorrow night? It’s just going to be me, Andrea, and Teddy. Mike’s off to Aerilon for a week to supervise the planting.”_

 _Laura smiled. “I’d love to.”_

 _Beth laughed. “Oh good. Is seven o’clock okay?”_

 _“Perfect.”_

 _“Great. We’ll see you then.” Beth paused. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”_

 _“I’m sure,” Laura smiled. “I’ll get over it and so will your brother. I’ll meet someone else, eventually. Find my way.”_

 _“Just take care, hon. I love you.”_

 _“I love you too. Don’t be too hard on him. It’s not really his fault.”_

 _“I’ll try. Call you later okay?”_

 _“Okay. Bye.”_

 _***_

            Laura washed the dishes and cleaned up her kitchen. It was 16:00 and they would be married now. She was surprised by the fact that she felt nothing; she was numb. He was married to Samantha Ackland. Their relationship was over. It was true that their relationship had been officially over for some months, but the finality of knowing he was married to someone else made it somehow more real. She shook her head and walked into the living room. Instead of turning off the stereo, she put on some soft jazz, turned the lights low, and poured herself a brandy from the modern glass decanter she kept on the hutch. She sank into her couch and stared into space while occasionally taking sips of the amber liquid.

            Her heart had broken, and she’d managed to pick up the pieces by herself. She had even begun to come to terms with the fact that she was as much to blame in this matter as he was. He would have given up his aspirations to the Presidency for her if she had asked him to, of that she was certain. Something in her wouldn’t allow that. It was too much to ask. He was destined for greatness, and she couldn’t stand in his way. She knew she was a ticking time bomb as far as her family history with cancer went, and if he gave up his dreams, he would be left with nothing more than a dead wife and dreams of what might have been. Not to mention the sweeping changes his governorship had brought about and the incredible amount of good that his potential Presidency could bring. Who was she to stand in the way of that?

            In that moment, Laura resolved that she would do whatever she could to make sure their sacrifice wasn’t in vain. Richard Adar _would_ be the next President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. If it meant that they had to give up a little bit of their souls, it would be worth it.  After that goal was achieved, she would get out. She hated politics.  She would find a nice man and settle down. She didn’t need a grand passion. Not anymore. She’d had that and it was exhausting. She’d find herself someone she was attracted to, who could be a good friend and husband. They’d settle down, maybe try for a child, maybe not. At some point, she would die of cancer; for some reason she never doubted that, but she would not die alone. 


	10. New Caprica

Chapter 10

 _New Caprica_

            Laura rolled over and took in the shape of the man framed by the doorway of her tent. “Come back to bed, Bill,” she dictated, her voice thick with slumber.

            He turned in the doorway and smiled, throwing whatever he was smoking to the ground, stepping on it with his bare foot. He closed the door-flap before making his way back to the bed, staring down at her in the muted lantern-light. “I was just thinking.”

            She smiled lazily, holding out her hand to him. “About what?”

            He took her hand and slid into the cot facing her, a breath’s distance away. She threw a bare leg over his boxer-short clad hip. “I was thinking that I can’t believe we frakked like a couple of teenagers out there before. Anyone could have seen us.”

            Laura laughed before closing the meager distance between them with a soft kiss. “Part of the excitement.”

            He kissed her back, gently, before nipping at her lips. “I never knew the President had discovery fantasies.”

            She laughed, that soft sultry laugh that would have made him weak in the knees had he been standing. “ _Former_ President.”

            “Former President, then.” He grazed his nose against hers while gently running his fingers through her hair before framing her face with both of his hands. “I will never get tired of looking at your face.” He kissed her again, sweeping his tongue into her mouth as though he were trying to suck her very soul from her body into his. “Never get tired of kissing you.”

            She reached between their bodies to help dispense of his shorts. “No fair. If I’m naked, you should be too.”

            Knowing he was beaten, Bill quickly pushed his shorts off and shoved them out of the bed. He wrapped his arms around the woman he loved and kissed her soundly. She tossed her leg back over his hip. “What were you dreaming about?” he whispered.

            “How did you know?” she mumbled in return. He reached down and touched her. “Oh,” she gasped, as his fingers explored the slickness they’d discovered. “Mmm,” she moaned, before remembering the question. She stayed his hand with hers, intertwining their fingers. “I dreamt that it was market day and you had come down from _Galactica_ to visit. You saw me dismiss the children from school and came into the tent. You looked into my eyes so intensely, I could hardly breathe…” she trailed off and opened her eyes to see his dilated pupils staring back at her. A glint appeared in her eyes as she brought his hand back to continue with his previous ministrations. “You stepped towards me and I stepped back again and again until my back was up against the supply cabinet…”

            “… and then?”

             “And then you kissed me. So deeply it took my breath away, and all I could think of was how soon you could be inside me.” As she said this she grasped his penis and guided him into her. When he was buried, she tightened her leg around him, guiding his movements slowly with her hips. “You came up from the kiss and turned me to face the cabinet…”

He kissed her neck, using his tongue and lips to find each of her pulses while following the gentle rhythm she had established. “What did I do next?” he whispered against her skin as he worked his lips around to her earlobe.

“You pushed up my skirt –the same skirt I was wearing today – and I heard you unbuckle your belt.” She used the pressure of her foot behind his knee to indicate that he should move faster. He complied, drawing a moan from her.

“Go on,” he ground out, barely able to make a coherent statement, as his urgency increased.

“I was ready, and you came into me.” She clenched her arms more tightly around his shoulders, as the tremors in her body started. “You slid your hands under my blouse and up my stomach to touch my breasts, while you frakked me from behind.”

“Did you come?”

“Oh yes,” she breathed, as she shattered into a million tiny little pieces with a muffled cry against his shoulder.

Bill kissed her mouth, as his own orgasm tore through him. They lay tangled in each other’s arms, patiently waiting for their breathing to return to normal. The little clock by her cot, the one she had bartered so ferociously for days earlier, softly ticked away the minutes. He brushed a stray lock of hair off of her damp brow. “Wow.”

She laughed softly. “’Wow’ is right. I can’t say that I’ve ever done _that_ before.”

“A first for me too,” he joined her laughter. He moved to disengage from her body, but she held him close.

“No. Stay. I love the feel of you inside me.”

He brushed his lips over hers. “I live to serve.”

They kissed and whispered and touched for some time, before Bill began to drowse. When he had fallen into a light sleep, Laura slipped out of bed and padded over to the sectioned off area that served as her tent’s bathroom. She returned to the bed, feeling freshened, slipped back in and spooned herself against Adama’s belly.

He woke and wrapped his arms around her. “I love these times with you.”

“Do you really think this will last?”

“Yes.”

She took his hand from where it rested on her breast and kissed it before replacing it. “I mean _this,_ ” she waved her hand about. “New Caprica. Settlement on this inhospitable planet…”

“No,” he replied, nuzzling his nose into her hair. “I think they will find us eventually, maybe at a very high cost. But I don’t think it will be any time soon, and like you said earlier: let’s just enjoy this. The time we have here and now. It’s likely that Baltar’s administration will crumble under its own weight long before they find us, and hopefully by that time, we will be back on the road to Earth.”

“I hope you’re right. But I have a bad feeling about this whole thing.”

“Then why settle?”

“What other choice do I have? It’s not like I have skills that will allow me to serve on any of the ships remaining in orbit. What I _can_ do is give the children here the education that they were so sorely lacking while we were running for our lives.”

“You are giving them a great gift.”

She turned in his arms and kissed his chest. “You always say the right things. I miss my phone on Colonial One.”

“There’s always the wireless.”

“Phone is more secure.”

“True.”

“I don’t want anyone to overhear the things I want to say.”

“Then say them now, Laura.”

“Don’t tempt me, Bill.”

They laughed. The give and take of their conversation had a rhythm that had developed into a kind of music over the past year, which had recently expanded to encompass their pillow talk. She’d missed this aspect of being in a relationship with a man. When she and Richard were young, and their love affair had been a public one, they had treasured every private moment. When they were older and their affair was clandestine and dangerous, she longed for the days when she could take his hand in public, or kiss him out in the open with no fear of reprisal. Her relationship with Bill was a strange mix of both. It was neither secret nor public, but she treasured every precious moment, because she knew just how rare they could be.

He slipped out of the bed, and she watched as he strolled to the bathroom area. Physically he was such a different type than she was used to. Where Richard had been lean and wiry, Bill was robust and muscular. She heard him pouring water from the bucket into the basin and decided that he was going to emerge much colder than he went in, so she pulled on her t-shirt and got up to put the kettle on.

She was shoving the last of the kindling into the little stove, when Bill emerged, naked as the day he was born, but with goose-flesh covering his body. “I hope that’s for tea,” he said as he walked up behind her wrapping his arms around her.

She shook him off. “Go dry off and put on some clothing. You’re freezing!” He laughed, letting her go. He found his boxers and pulled them on, along with one of his tanks, and came back behind her as she set the kettle on top of the stove. “You’re still barely wearing anything. You’ll catch your death.”

“I’m wearing more than you,” he pointed out.

“Yes, but I didn’t just pour freezing-cold river water all over my body.”

“An easily solvable problem…” he retorted as he began to move away from her.

She grabbed his hand. “Don’t you dare.”

He laughed, wrapping his arms around her before placing a kiss in the hair that covered her neck. “I know better, if I ever want to get into your bed again. Besides, I’m feeling warmer already.”

She turned in his arms and gave him a little kiss before disengaging herself. “I can tell. You men are like furnaces. We women don’t have that luxury. Well, except for the occasional hot flash, but that’s more like a furnace on the fritz.”

“I remember my mother going through that. She nearly froze us out that winter,” he chuckled.

“Bill Adama, are you comparing me to your mother?”

She looked like a raging fury, all red-hair and long legs, with that snug drab t-shirt hugging her body. He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her soundly. “Never,” he said before engaging in another assault on her lips.

Laura heard the kettle begin to boil. She broke off the kiss, “Tea,” she stated rather breathlessly.

Bill chuckled, pressing his forehead to hers. “Go pour it. We’re not exactly twenty anymore.”

“Or forty,” she threw over her shoulder before turning back to the stove to prepare the tea. “Do you want sugar?”

“How bitter is the tea?”

“Not so very bitter. Maybe slightly more than Caprican Green.”

“Then no sugar for me.”

“All right.” She poured two mugs of the steaming brew and handed him one.

They stood in the makeshift kitchen watching each other over the rims of their mugs. Bill took a sip of his tea. “This is pretty good.” He went over to the cot and sat down facing the stove. He patted the space beside him and Laura sat down, pulling her feet up into the bed and leaned against his solid form. He played with her hair as they sat there, staring at the fire that burned behind the grate. “This reminds me of camping with the boys when they were little.”

She turned her head ever so slightly to look at him and smiled in encouragement. “Really? Tell me about it.”

“There’s not a whole lot to tell. We’d put up a tent, fish, and cook our catch over a fire for dinner. I had a cot much like this one for the boys, and I’d take a bedroll and sleep on the floor.” He was smiling as he remembered.

“Happier times?”

He nodded.

“What was Lee like as a little boy?”

Bill chuckled. “He was a curious little kid. Smart as anything. Quiet. You rarely knew he was around, so you had to be careful: he heard and took in everything.”

“I can see that.”

“Yeah. I sometimes wonder if the military was the right call for him. He was such a cerebral kid.”

“I thought he was in the reserves?”

“He was. Military paid for college, but he became such a great pilot, he did a lot of show flying. And right before the attacks, he was promoted to Captain and accepted to test-pilot training. I’m not sure he really knew what to do with his intellectual abilities. To be honest, I never encouraged him to hone them.” Laura gave him a look. He sighed. “You have to understand, Laura. I was very invested in what it meant to be a pilot. I fought in one battle as a rook before the war ended and was relegated to life as a merchant marine before I met Carolanne. My reinstatement in the fleet was a turning point for me. Being a successful officer meant more to me than anything. I’m afraid it meant more to me than my marriage, too.” Laura squeezed his arm. “We weren’t well matched, unfortunately. Not that we didn’t have good times. We did. They just get tangled so completely with the bad when I try to remember them.”

“You know, Bill, one thing I have learned is that we all do the best we can with what we are given. Our circumstances can make us vulnerable to our weaknesses or play up our strengths, and what is vulnerability in one situation may very well be strength in another. You can’t blame yourself for the fact that your children followed in your footsteps. More boys pursue their father’s profession than not; you know that. It’s the way of the world. The fact that you didn’t become a lawyer like your father is pretty astonishing…”

“My brother did.”

“I’m not done.”

“By all means.”

“Secondly: If Lee hadn’t taken the exact path that he did, he would be just as dead as everyone else we left behind. Never forget that.”

“I never could.” He took her empty mug along with his own and walked over to the table. He scooped some water out of the bucket to rinse them. When he finished, he sat down on the cot again, pulling Laura to him and laying them down, spoon style. She tucked her head into his arm, placing a little kiss there. “What about you?” he asked “Any camping stories for little Laura?”

She laughed. “Camping? No. My mother wouldn’t even let me go fishing with my dad and brother. She was afraid I’d jump in the water and they’d miss it, leaving me to drown in the ocean. I loved to swim. I couldn’t stay out of any body of water when I was a  kid.” She smiled at the memory. “And that included the fountain at the Caprica City Riverwalk.”

Bill chuckled at the image. “You must have been a precocious one.”

“I guess. Being the youngest of five, and a midlife ‘whoops’ baby at that, I suppose I had to be. Although unlike you, I became an educator like my mother.”

“So, no camping. Any sports?”

“Believe it or not, I was a fabulous diver. I went to college on a diving scholarship. I was all-Caprican every year since I was fourteen, top three in my division until I left the sport when I graduated.”

“Wow.”

She shrugged. “I liked water. We Roslins all had a sport. My dad and my brother were boxers. In fact, that was one thing I did with them.”

“You boxed?”

“No. I watched my brother box. When I was small, I’d sit on my father’s shoulders to get a better view. My mother hated it, but dad insisted, since she wouldn’t let me fish with them. He thought we needed to ‘bond’.”

“Children should bond with their parents. What did your sisters do?”

“Stacey was a swimmer; she was always fishing me out of bodies of water when I was little. Maude was a runner, and Kim was a tennis star. All-worlds champion five years in a row. She made a fortune.”

“Kim Roslin was your sister? Huh. I never put that together.”

“It’s not like you had the time to give it a whole lot of thought.”

“True. I _do_ like lying here, ‘thinking’ with you.”

“Hmm. Me too,” she agreed, rolling to face him.

“Maybe we could do a little more thinking?”

“Are you sure?” she half-chuckled.

“Well, nothing too intellectual. Just some light thinking.” He kissed her sweetly, a light kiss that barely brushed her lips.

Laura nibbled at his lower lip. “Light thinking sounds perfect to me.” They continued to kiss unhurriedly, hands touching only faces and shoulders, occasionally sliding down a back or squeezing a buttock. Hours passed in ‘thinking’ and whispers of words, neither knew when sleep fell upon them, neither cared. They were finally able to relax together, unencumbered.

***

 _“Maybe we should just enjoy this.”_

 _He turned his head to her slightly. “I am,” he grumbled, his voice thick._

 _“No, no. I mean enjoy being here on this planet as long as it lasts. I mean maybe,” she swallowed back her emotions, “the Cylons come back, maybe they don’t but for now, right now,” she paused, “we’ve got a break.” She snuggled a little closer to his warmth._

 _Bill took a moment to find the right words. “I’ve got people that want to get off the ship. Move down here.”_

 _Laura moved her hand from where it rested near his shoulder to stroke his abdomen through the thick fabric of his uniform. “Can’t say as I blame them. I mean, what’re you gonna do?” He took her wandering hand in his and pulled her on top of him. “Whoa,” she giggled a little dizzily. “Careful there soldier.” She rested with one arm on his chest, supporting her, while using her free hand to brush at his hair. “What_ are _you going to do, Bill? About those people?”_

 _“Give them what they want. Most of them anyhow.” He scooped his hand through the hair at the nape of her neck, pulling her in for a kiss._

 _“Well, hello there,” she whispered when he released her. She then dipped her head down to continue the kiss. He felt strange kissing her like this. Exposed. High. A little drunk. His lips tingled from the special herb they had been smoking, and the rhythm of the music from the dancing just up the hill was thrumming through his body. He wrapped his arms around her back in an attempt to bring her even closer, and his whole body ignited. She subtly rubbed herself up along his torso, as though trying climb into him, while their lips and tongues kissed, bit, and tasted._

 _Bill rolled them over so that he was on top of her. “Shh. Slow down.” They were both breathing hard, searching for purchase._

 _She grabbed the lapels of his coat and pulled him to her for another kiss. “Can’t,” she whispered._

 _Bill propped himself up on his arms. “Yes, you can. Relax.”_

 _“Bu…”_

 _“No.” He gave her a light kiss. “You_ can _.” He drew his face down her neck and kissed her across her exposed collar bones. “You smell so good.”_

 _“Hmm.”_

 _Bill sat up and untied her wrap. He glanced up to her face to gauge her reaction. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was fast. He slid his hands under the hem of her t-shirt, circling her belly with soft strokes before slipping over her breasts and around to her back. Laura’s eyes flew open. She got that glint in her eye like she was going to say something, but Bill just shook his head. She arched her back as he pushed her shirt up over her shoulders, but not over her head, and his hands grasped the clasp of her bra, releasing her from the contraption. He slid the lacy piece of underwear down her arms and over her hands, discarding it next to them. He pushed her tee over her breasts and stared at her for a moment, his slightly intoxicated mind needing time to take in the bounty he was seeing._

 _Laura lifted he head slightly. “Well?”_

 _He chuckled before leaning in to take one nipple in his mouth while his hand explored her other breast. He licked and suckled, eliciting moans and groans and little mewling sounds from the woman beneath him. He felt a surge of happiness at his ability to make this powerful woman helpless with pleasure. He switched his attention to the other breast and she gasped, her body going liquid at the contact. When he felt as though she was going to rip his hair out, he released her and started kissing his way down her body. When his lips met the waistband of her skirt, he sat back on his heels, contemplating his next move. He knew what he wanted, but would she go for it out in the open like this?_ Only one way to find out _. He grasped the hem of her skirt and began to push it up, delicately trailing his fingers up her legs._

 _She bent her leg as his hands climbed._ She’d go for it. _He smiled, lifting the bent leg over his shoulder and planting a delicious, wet kiss behind her knee. She sighed. He trailed his face up the inside of her thigh, memorizing the scent of her mixed with the clear New Caprican air. When he arrived at the barrier of her panties, he slid her bent leg through the hole, leaving them in a half-off state. His breath was warm at the apex of her thigh, and she lifted her hips in invitation. He chuckled, wondering if she remembered where they were, but not really caring.  He placed a kiss on the red hair there, curling his tongue through it to taste and tease her. He raised his eyes and watched her hands lift off the ground, looking for something to hold as his tongue made contact. First she tried to grip the ground, but finding no sheets, she brought them to her belly. That appeared to be unsatisfying, so she slid them up to her own breasts. Bill felt wild at the sight and added his fingers to his ministrations, using one to enter her and add to the sensations. He felt a hand grip his hair in an effort to guide his motions._ More? _He could do that. He redoubled his efforts and her hips began to gyrate, her little moans becoming more fractured and frequent. He stole a glance and watched as she bit down on her free hand as he felt her shatter and pulse against his mouth and fingers. Her hand muffled her cries as he continued to lick, caress, and suck. She gave a tug upwards with the hand that was still laced in his hair._

 _“Come here,” she commanded._

 _Bill crawled up her body and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He felt her hands slide down to his waist and unbuckle his uniform trousers. He gave her a surprised look, but she just smiled her imp’s smile. She reached inside his boxers and grasped his cock firmly. It wasn’t as though she’d never touched him before, but her hand on him_ now _was driving him wild. He kissed her again while she stroked him surely, adding a tease here, a twist there. He couldn’t concentrate on kissing her when she held him like that. “Laura…” He squeezed his eyes shut._

 _“Just enjoy it, Bill.” She continued to tease him with her hand until his breath was ragged. He opened his eyes to see she was smiling back at him. He glanced her a question and she nodded her head, removing her hand from his penis._

 _He shoved down his trousers and boxers and guided himself into her slowly, leaning down to kiss her deeply when he was fully situated. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, meeting him thrust-for-thrust, stroke-for-stroke, digging her heels into the backs of  his thighs. As their pace increased, their kisses became longer in a semi-unconscious attempt to muffle their groans and cries. She came first, the spasming of her inner muscles pulling him into his orgasm; the world went white, and he collapsed on top of her._

 _For a few moments they lay there catching their breaths. He rolled off of her so they could put themselves to rights, and he pulled up his trousers, while Laura slipped her leg back into her panties, pushed her arms through her top, and grabbed her bra from the ground beside them. Bill pulled her back into his arms, so they were nestled together exactly as they were before this madness started, her head tucked neatly into his shoulder. They rested there, gazing at the stars for an unknown amount of time, before Laura spoke._

 _“Bill?”_

 _“Mmm,” he murmured, half asleep._

 _“Let’s go back to my tent. It’s a much more comfortable place to sleep.”_

 _“Okay.”_

 

 

 

 

 

 


	11. 5 years before the destruction of the Colonies

Chapter 11

 _5 years before the destruction of the Colonies._

            Secretary of Education Laura Roslin walked into the office of the President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and was greeted by a terse, “Close the door, Madame Secretary. And lock it.” Laura’s head popped up and she glared at the man sitting behind the large desk, his eyes glued to a stack of reports in front of him. _So it was going to be one of_ those _meetings._ Her breath hitched a little in anticipation as she closed and locked the door before she strode over to the desk and sat in one of the chairs opposite the President. She crossed her legs, her skirt riding up her thigh. Tension built as she sat there waiting for him to finish the report.

            “This will never do,” he said, without looking up from the report. “The cost is too high.”

            “Would you care to tell me what you are talking about?” she asked, slightly perturbed.

            “Your plan to expand the agricultural scholarships to students from other colonies. We already fund free university educations for outstanding scholars from Aerilon and Saggitaron, and those programs aren’t cheap. Why on Kobol would you want to expand that to the other ten colonies?”

            Laura just stared at the man in front of her, completely flummoxed. “Richard, my plan calls for increasing the tax burden by only two cubits per household per year, and only on households with an income of over fifty-thousand. If we increased it by five cubits, every student on all twelve colonies could go to university for free.”

            He looked up at her with those shrewd eyes. “It’s too much.”

            Laura shook her head and said nothing, meeting his stare with a stone-cold look of her own. She knew he was baiting her: he wanted a fight. And a frak. She’d give him both, but he was going to have to work for it. “What do you want me to say, Richard? I’m the Secretary of Education. I’m doing my job. What are you doing? What about ‘an education for everyone,’ and ‘banish illiteracy’? Were those just simple platitudes to get voters or did you mean them?”

            “I meant them…”

            “…at the time?” she interrupted.

            He stood up quickly, startling her. “What do you want me to say, Laura?” he seethed.

            “Richard, this was the first time you had to _earn_ the Presidency...” she trailed off.

            “Lost your faith, have you?”

            She stood and walked over to the window. “I don’t know.” She wrapped her arms around her body, rubbing them as though chilled. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe in your administration.”

            “My _administration_?” He came around to the front of the desk and leaned back against it, watching her suspiciously.

            She sighed and turned around. “In _you_. I still do. Most of the time.” She shook her head. “Don’t you remember a time when you believed in _me_?”

            “If I didn’t believe in you, you wouldn’t be here.”  Her eyes snapped up to his. “As Secretary of Education,” he clarified. “But you can’t just be giving away my money.”

            “ _Your_ money?” she asked, exasperated. “It’s _our_ money. Every citizen of the Twelve Colonies. We earn it, we pay taxes, and we expect to see promised social programs, proper military defense, healthcare. You’ve been chipping away at those things for the past year and a half! If it weren’t for my intervention, your sister would have left your administration six months ago!”

            He crossed his arms. “So now you’re the guardian angel of my administration?”

            “That’s not what I meant and you know it. Stop trying to bait me.”

            “I’m just trying to figure you out.”

            Laura shook her head, “Oh no. Don’t you dare, Richard Adar. I’m not the one in the wrong here. I’m trying to find ways to put your, _our,_ campaign promises into action. My plans are for the good of humanity. I don’t understand why you are resisting so hard.”

            “You didn’t get your education on those scholarships, I didn’t get my education on those scholarships. We’ve talked about the stability of society being based on legacy time and again. This program threatens the fabric of our civilization.”

            Laura turned to face him. She opened her mouth to speak and quickly snapped it shut. She opened her mouth to speak again but instead closed it and shook her head.

            “Laura,” he took a step towards her.

            She shook her head, “No, Richard.”

            “You know I’m right.”

            “You’re wrong. This won’t change the basic way of life for most, but will allow anyone who doesn’t fit into the mold set by their mothers or fathers to have another way to be a contributing member of society.”

            “That way exists for the majority of those who need it, Laura. It is generally the seventh or eighth or even the tenth or eleventh child from a family on Aerilon or Saggitaron who needs the scholarship. Expanding the program is not in the best interest of society.”

            “I wish you would listen to yourself sometimes. One day you are the people’s savior, the next, you are sending in troops to quash a rebellion. I don’t understand how we got here from there!”

            Richard gave Laura a hard look. He laughed bitterly. “How? Do the words, ‘ _you have to marry her’_ ring any bells? _You_ made me this way, Laura.”

            Laura froze, the breath knocked from her body as though she had been punched in the stomach. Her eyes teared up, but she fought fiercely to keep them from falling. After a moment, she took in a deep, shuddering breath. Richard had just blown them into uncharted territory. This was not what she came in expecting. When he was angry and wanted someone to fight with, he often chose her with the benefit of makeup sex in mind. Sometimes it was later at her house or in a hotel, sometimes here in the office. Their anger frequently turned their encounters into a war of words and bodies, but the choice they had made to get him here had always been off limits to anger.

            He strode right up to her and took her face in his hands. He didn’t make any other moves. He just stared at her, a myriad of emotions from white hot fury to deep sorrow, flickered through his eyes so quickly she wondered if it was an illusion. “It’s you,” he whispered angrily.

            Laura’s eyes searched his briefly, looking for something, she was unsure of what. She grasped his hands and removed them from her face and turned to leave the room. Her hand was on the doorknob when he called out.

            “Laura, wait.”

            She stopped, her hand still poised to let herself out of the room. She didn’t turn, not wanting him to see the angry tears that streaked her face. “What do you _want?_ ” she ground out in a hoarse whisper.

            He strode up behind her, placing his hands proprietarily on her hips and turned her around so her back was up against the door when he noticed her tears. “Hurts, does it?” She turned her face away, but he grabbed it with a strong hand and forced her to look at him. “The truth’s a bitch, Laura.”

            “You’re wrong, Richard. We all make our own destinies, and while I can accept my part in yours, you are just as much to blame as I am.” She grabbed his hand and yanked his fingers off her jaw. “And I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t manhandle me.”

            He stepped a little closer positioning one leg in between hers. “There was a time when you liked being manhandled.” He brushed her hair over a shoulder, his thumbs wiping away her tears.

            “Not today. Not like this.”

            “Are you sure?” he breathed as he traced her neck with his breath.

            She gasped as his tongue flicked out to taste a pulse point. “I…”

            “Shh.” He nipped the tender spot where her neck and shoulder met.

            “This isn’t over. Stop trying to distract me,” she retorted, all the while wrapping her arms around him, tilting her head to give him better access.

            “Oh, it’s far from over,” he assented. He kissed her jaw. “You have a lot to answer for.” He trailed kisses up to her ear, biting down on her earlobe.

            Laura hissed out a breath. “ _I_ have a lot to answer for?” She turned her face to his and met his lips in a hungry kiss.

            Richard’s hands skimmed down her sides to the hem of her skirt, raising it up as he broke the kiss, but left his lips grazing hers. “You. You’ve been hanging on to the coattails of power since you shoved me into bed with the Acklands.”

            Laura ran her hand down the front of his trousers, using his temporary distraction to press her advantage and turn _his_ back to the door, their lips remaining just a hairsbreadth apart. “Are you sure it’s the _coattails_ of power I’ve been hanging on to?” she asked, giving him a little squeeze.

            He groaned and maneuvered them back around to their original position with her back against the door, bringing their lips together in a fierce kiss that was a battle for supremacy by tongues and teeth. “I wanted to make a difference,” he growled.

            Laura’s practiced hands deftly unbuckled his belt and made short work of his trousers. “Instead, you’re sending in troops on Saggitaron and denying kids an education. What a wonderful legacy.” She pulled him free of his boxers, stroking his length once from base to tip.

            He grasped one of her thighs, looping it over his hip, moving his body closer to hers, enjoying her caresses, but determined to make her as furious as he was. He leaned closer and whispered into her ear: “It’s not as though you have any power of your own, Madame Secretary. The only reason I can imagine you staying with a President you find so distasteful is for the reflected glory.”

            “No power?” she whispered between kisses. She pulled his cock closer to her body rubbing it along her damp panties, all the while denying him entry. “You use our affair to make yourself feel important, to feel as though _you_ have power over someone or something.”

            He bit her neck, none too gently. “I _am_ important. I _do_ have power.” He pushed closer.

            She groaned. “Not here… the door…”

            “Eight centimeters of solid oak.”

            “Still…” she surrendered momentarily to his kisses.

            “Let me in, Laura,” he whispered, furious at just how little power he did have where she was concerned.

            She guided him into her, pushing her panties just slightly to the side. When he was fully seated, they stood there briefly, foreheads touching. Laura tilted her head up and took his lower lip gently between her teeth. “Do you feel better now? Does being a liar and a cheat make you feel powerful?”

            “You tell me.” He ran his teeth down her neck, biting and soothing as he went. “Does being my whore make you feel _glorious_?” he asked with an accompanying thrust.

            “That’s not how David Trimball thinks of me.” She raked her nails up his back.

            “I saw that picture,” he ground into her, causing her to cry out. “He’s an idiot.”

            She kissed him, their tongues battling for supremacy as their bodies came together again and again. “He’s dangerous. I like danger,” she whispered between kisses.

            “He can never give you what I can,” he growled, as the muscles in her thigh tightened around his hip, indicating her impending climax.

            “No,” she moaned. “He can give me _more._ ”

            “You’re wrong, you’re wrong,” he chanted to the rhythm of their movements.

            All words ceased as their frenzied joining brought them both completely into the sensations of their bodies; lips bruising lips, hips grinding hard against each other. Richard came and Laura followed him with a cry into their fused lips.

            The clung together, breathing raggedly. Laura’s knees began to give way, so Richard eased them down to the floor, backs to the door, bodies embracing. She tugged down her skirt, while he set his trousers to right. Slowly, they moved apart, resting their heads against the door. His eyes closed, hers wide open, staring straight ahead. Disconnected, but still held together by intertwining fingers.

            He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “I didn’t mean it, Laura.”

            “I know, Richard.”

            He waited, wanting her to repeat his sentiment, but the words never came. “Trimball? Couldn’t you find someone other than the man who wants to topple my administration?”

            “It was only dinner. Not even a real date. He was trying to woo me into his camp. Said you don’t care enough about education for me to remain part of your cabinet. He’s been trying to win Beth over as well.” She turned her head to look at him, still letting its weight rest against the door.

            He turned his head towards her and opened his eyes. “How’d you manage to keep her from leaving?”

            “Loyalty, Richard. We _do_ believe in you, you know. Even if you can be an ass at times.”

            He chuckled. “I deserved that.”

            “Yes, you did.”

            “It’s not serious, then? Not personal?”

            “It could be. He’d like it to be. I wish I could.” She released a small sigh of frustration. “I want to. I want something simple. What we have is too complicated.”

            He closed the bit of space between their faces and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. “You’ve given up so much for me. More than I have for you. It’s not fair, and the rewards are not enough to make you stay, but you do anyway.”

            Laura leaned back, closed her eyes, and shrugged. She half-laughed, a kind of _humfing_ sound. “I do.” She paused. “If I knew why, then maybe I could leave, but something compels me to stay. Maybe someday I’ll understand why. For now, just count your blessings.”

            Richard slid his hand around her shoulder and pulled her close. He stroked her head until it rested against his shoulder.

            “Someone must be wanting to meet with you about now.”

            “Let them wait.”

            “But…”

            “It’s a couple more minutes. Let them wait.”

 

 

 


	12. 48 hours following the exodus from New Caprica

Chapter 12

 _48 hours following the exodus from New Caprica_

            William Adama’s stomach clenched as well as his fists as he made his way from the landing bay on Colonial One to her office. He’d tried to rehearse what he was going to say to her any number of times, but he never made it past the first word: Laura. Her name hung in his head with guilt and shame. So much had passed since that last night on New Caprica, and now all he could think about was, _How would they move on from here?_

            What would she look like? Would she be happy to see him? Angry? They had spoken on the phone briefly, but he hadn’t looked into her eyes and seen how she really felt. He’d been living with the uncertainty ever since they first jumped away. His feelings were conflicted. He loved her, but with all that had happened, their personal relationship couldn’t continue. Could it?

            He walked into her office only to find Tory arranging papers on Laura’s desk. She turned at the sound of his entry, “Admiral.” She nodded. “The President will be with you shortly, if you’d care to take a seat.”

            He nodded back at her. “Thank you. I’ll stand.”

            “As you like.” Tory gathered up some papers from the desk and disappeared behind the curtain into the pressroom.

            He stood in front of the President’s desk, as he had so many times before, hands clasped before him. Only this time he didn’t feel like The Admiral. He felt like an unfaithful lover who was facing the truth for the first time after prolonged infidelity. He had to force himself to stand still, metering his breath to keep his anxiety at bay. 

            The curtain opened and she walked through. His breath caught in his throat. She looked thin. Too thin. She was still beautiful, of course. She was wearing navy slacks and a pink blouse, and her hair was wet, some of the tendrils beginning to curl around her face. She had a pink glow on her cheeks, and she smiled at him, but there was weariness and  wariness behind those smoky green eyes he had spent so much time gazing into, before everything went to hell. Again.

            “Laura,” he said. But the word caught in his throat. He couldn’t think of what else to say. After all, that was as far as he had gotten in his rehearsal.

            She smiled at him. “I just spent twenty minutes standing under a hot shower. It’s amazing how much one can appreciate simple luxuries after months with only cold-water basins to wash in, if one was lucky.” She smiled that little half-smile that he’d come to know as her way of shrugging off irony. She sat behind her desk. “Please sit, Admiral.”

            He sat, but still didn’t know what to say. The silence became uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and squirmed just the slightest bit in his seat. No one but Laura Roslin would have noticed it. “Madame President…”

            “It’s not your fault, Bill.” She sighed.

            He opened his mouth to speak.

            She raised a hand. “No. Don’t. I can see what’s going through your head. You’re drowning in guilt.  But what were you going to do? Die and leave us there with no hope of rescue? No. You did the right thing.”

            “So many people…”

            “Yes,” she interrupted again. “We lost many people. Good people.”

            Bill sat silently for a moment at watched her. It wasn’t like Laura to not let him get a word in edgewise. After several beats, her eyes left his and skidded across the papers on her desk. It was then that he realized she didn’t know how to have this conversation any more than he did. He chuckled. “I feel like a teenager trying to get up the courage to talk to a girl. We’ve never had trouble talking before. Why now?”

            She looked up at him, removed her glasses, set them on the desk and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know. I feel like there is a chasm between us and I have no idea how to cross it.”

            “It should be easy. But when I thought of what I’d say to you when I saw you again…”

            “Me too. I replayed this moment so many times. But I couldn’t get past seeing you walk into the room.” She shrugged.

            He chuckled. “And I couldn’t get past your name.”

            Laura leaned back in her chair and swiveled from side to side before coming back to center. “So here we are, then.”

            “Here we are.”

            They sat in uncomfortable silence for several moments.

“The transfer of power…” Laura began. As she explained the plan she and Tom Zarek had devised to return the presidency into her capable hands, Adama found his concentration on her words failing. Instead he heard tones and inflections. He watched as she reached a hand into her hair, mid-sentence, and massaged her head. What was wrong? When the hand slid down to her shoulder and kneaded briefly he was desperate to reach out and massage the knots for her. But he couldn’t and he knew his hands were tied. Too much water under the bridge. They had been so close before, but the return of the Cylons and the subsequent reshuffling of the fleet put an end to it. He could feel the emotional distance between them now so much more keenly than the physical distance of that months-long occuapation that forced them apart.

            They had been on the brink of real intimacy then. She’d not admitted her love for him, in spite of his proddings, but marriage _had_ been a topic of discussion. He knew she was resistant to more than a physical relationship and for a time, he was okay with that. But William Adama couldn’t keep his heart separate from his body for long, and he’d fallen head over ears for this woman ages ago. His heart was in deep and he wanted commitment, but as he watched her talk about returning to office and snippets of “amnesty” and “finding Earth” broke through into his consciousness, he knew that the barriers had been rebuilt, and he knew she was right. They _had_ to get to Earth now. There was nowhere else for them.

            “Hunh,” he grunted. Laura looked at him askance before returning her attention back to the topic of conversation. There was nowhere but Earth for the fleet, but was there anywhere else for the two of them?

            “Admiral?”

            “Yeah,” Adama posited.

            “Are you going to answer my question?”

            He cleared his throat and his eyes widened. _Caught._

            She smiled, but it was a sad smile. This was not the smile he liked to see on her face. It was one he thought had disappeared along with her cancer. Its melancholy return didn’t bode well for his desires for them.

            “I asked if you would support Tom Zarek as Vice President.”

            “Is that what you really want?”

            “He deserves it. He was true to us, to humanity, when Baltar sided with the Cylons. He was imprisoned and abused and never turned his back on us.”

            Adama’s expression grew skeptical. “Tom Zarek?”

            “I know,” Laura smiled. “Almost unbelievable, a Zarek who wants to serve someone other than himself. But he does. I want him close by, Bill.”

            “The repercussions…”

            “Are nothing close to what they’d be if he was shut out. You have to know that.”

            He shrugged. “I guess I can’t. I wasn’t there. If it’s what you want, I’ll support it.”

            “Even if something should happen to me?”

            “Don’t talk like that.” _I just got you back._

            “I have to, Bill. I’m the _President._ It’s what presidents think about.”

            “If he is your choice, I’ll support it.” But Bill was uneasy. He could never really trust Tom Zarek, and while he didn’t believe in the Gods, he believed in Laura Roslin, and he would support _her_ with his dying breath. He stood. “Madame President. Laura.” He held out his arm, bent, a gesture of support. “May I escort you to the swearing in?”

            Laura put on her glasses and stood slowly. Stretching out an apparent kink in her hip before walking around her desk to take his arm. “Thank you, Admiral.” She smiled as she took his arm and gave his wrist a little squeeze. “Bill.”

            They walked toward the curtain and the more public space behind it. Bill smiled. Order was about to be restored. 


	13. 19 years prior to the destruction of the Colonies

Chapter 13

 _19 years prior to the destruction of the Colonies_

            “Come _on_ , Richard!” Laura yanked his hand, trying to pull him out of the back seat of the limo, her heart clutched in a mild panic. Since she had rebuffed his advances in the car, he’d buried his head in his papers and barely acknowledged her.

            “…Last sentence…” Richard mumbled distractedly.

            Laura flopped back on the leather seat. Why did she ever think dating the Governor was even close to a good idea?

            “Done.” Richard closed the folio he was reading and turned to gaze into indignant eyes. “I’m sorry, Laura. You know how hard it is for me to keep all of this in hand.”

She rolled her eyes. Work only became all-consuming these days when she wasn’t _in the mood._ He snaked his hand behind her head and pulled her closer for a kiss.

            When their lips met, she momentarily forgot her frustration and gave in to the pleasure of the physical contact. “Wait.” She pushed him away. “We’re here for you to see something special. Come on.” She tugged on his hand again, and he complied, allowing himself to be pulled out of the car.

            Richard blinked in the sunlight. He took in the woods and the small cottage. “What am I looking at here?” he asked.

            “My new house! Come on. You have to see it.” She tugged his arm once again, to pull him towards the front door.

            He grabbed her hand in a dead stop. “You bought a house?”

            She laughed. “Yes! Isn’t it beautiful?”

            He frowned, surveying the old house, and that was being generous. It was a small cottage surrounded by woods, and not in the best repair. “Why did you ever buy a house? And why all the way out here?”

            “It’s only a half hour from the city, and wait till you see the view from the bedroom. I was totally blown away.” Laura huffed, a little bit frustrated. They’d been dating just over a year and she knew Richard’s moods tended to be mercurial. Today he was more than a little pissy. Normally, she could deal with it, lords knew she’d had enough practice with some of her family, but she was _not_ going to let him rain on her parade. “It just needs a little TLC.” She walked up to the front door, pulling him behind her and slipped a key into the lock. “It has good bones. I can do something with it.”

            He looked skeptical. “If you say so.”

            She shook her head. “I know good bones when I see them, Richard. Just because this house is not on the Avenue, doesn’t make it any less worthwhile.”

            He squeezed her hand and nodded. “Of course. I’m sorry.”

            “Come. Let me show you.” They entered the house through the front door, which brought them into a large room that included a run-down country kitchen. “This is the living-kitchen area. There’s a room through that door,” she pointed to the back and left of the room, “that has an back-entrance to the house that I’m thinking of using as an office.

            “Mmhmm.”

            The panic was creeping in again. Her voice pitched itself a little higher, “Through here is the master suite. You are going to _love_ this.” She dropped his hand and practically fled across the room and opened a door that very nearly blended invisibly into the wall around it. “ _This_ is going to be my haven.” She slid open the door with a little bit of a flourish. “Just look at that!” She gestured and he stepped up behind her to look. “It’s an entire wall of glass. My idea of heaven! Isn’t that the most gorgeous view you’ve ever seen?”

            Richard took it in. The room was large, and the window _was_ impressive, but he hated surprises and was, frankly, more than a little pissed that Laura would make this kind of decision without consulting him. “It’s quite lovely, darling, but isn’t it a little bit voyeuristic?”

            She laughed. “Of course not! Who’s going to see, the bears?” She turned back to face him. “Really, Richard. There’s nothing but woods for acres and acres.”

            He frowned. “That’s concerning. A woman by herself…”

            Laura chuffed, again. “Really, Richard, you can be so exasperating. Of course I’m going to install proper security, but how often do I get to spend a night alone?”

            “Exactly so. Why do you need to buy your own place? For all intents and purposes we live together. We could make it permanent.”

            Laura studied Richard Adar, really studied him, and she wasn’t sure she liked what she was seeing. His tone was condescending, his posture was stiff, and he appeared poised to bolt. She’d never heard a more unromantic proposal of, of what? _Cohabitation_? Where was the man who hung on her every word? Okay, she didn’t really expect that aspect of his attentiveness to last forever, but he had always supported her independence. Understood her reluctance to marry. Recently there had been subtle changes that unnerved her. He was becoming controlling, and an edge was starting to creep into his manner. She was beginning to feel stifled. She hadn’t spent a night in her own apartment in ages, which was part of the reason why she had jumped when this property came up for sale.

***

            Three weeks ago her friend Lucy, a real-estate agent, called her about this house. She had been practically bursting with excitement. “Laura, I have your dream house! You must come and see it!” she had exclaimed over the phone.

            “Ooookay.” Laura was skeptical, as Lucy was prone to flights of fancy. “What’s so dreamy about it?”

            “It’s just like the cabin you used to draw when we were kids. Small, but open-feeling, and surrounded by woods…”

            “Hold on there, Luce,” she interrupted. “I have a job in the _government_. My entire life revolves around Caprica City. I can’t go and live in the woods!” she laughed

            “Will you let me finish?”

            “Okay. Fine. Tell me.”

            “It’s in the woods, yes. But it’s in Oakton!”

            “Oakton? That’s so close!”

            “Yeah, there are some great parks there, and this property is on the edge of a big one. The lot’s nearly five acres. You’d be totally secluded, but really just minutes from civilization. Isn’t that the heaven you always dreamed of?”

            Laura smiled. “I guess it is, isn’t it?”

            “And wait till I tell you about the bedroom!”

            “No, no, Luce! Not the bedroom!” she laughed.

            “Wait, wait! An entire wall of the bedroom is floor-to-ceiling windows. You can place your bed facing the woods and wake up to that gorgeous view every morning. Can you imagine what that would be like in winter when it snows?”

            Laura sighed. “It does sound heavenly.”

            “And just think of all the al fresco nookie you and Richard can have without having to deal with the inconveniences of actually being al fresco.”

Laura snorted. “Enough! I’ll come see it, I promise, if you’ll just stop talking about my sex life!”

            “Tomorrow morning. The open house isn’t until mid-week; I’ll get you in early. Meet me at my apartment and I’ll drive you over.”

            “It’s a deal.”

            Laura saw the house the next morning and fell in love. She offered the asking price on the spot and closed on the house in record time, thanks to her status as an “important person in Caprica City.”

***

Now she stood here, heart in hand, showing her dream house to her boyfriend and he was acting as though she had dragged him out on a nuisance trip.

            “Richard, stop looking at me like that.”

            “Like what?”

            “Like you’re a five-year-old about to throw a tantrum because I took away your toy.” Richard scowled. “No. Don’t try to deny it. You are about to throw a tantrum.”

            “I don’t throw tantrums.”

            Laura sighed. “Can we not do this right now, Richard? I’m trying to share something important to me with you. Remember how you wanted me to include you more? I’m trying.”

            He reached out and took her hand. “I’m sorry, Laura. I’m just feeling a lot of pressure from factions I never expected.” He sighed and gave her hand a squeeze. “Show me your house.”

            She took a deep breath to release the tension in her chest. “Well,” she began skeptically, “this is obviously the bedroom. I’m going to put the bed here,” she gestured towards the wall opposite the windows, “so that I can wake up to nature every morning. I’m thinking a low-set platform with lots of pillows and a fluffy feather comforter.”

            “Sounds tempting.” He slid his arm around her waist. “The en suite?”

            “It’s pretty rough right now, but it’s large, so I’m going to put in a big soaking tub and a steam shower. Like I said, the house has good bones, so the major renovations are going to be largely cosmetic. The bathroom, the kitchen.”

            “Show me.”

            She led him out into the large living area. “I love these old cabinets,” she said while opening them to show him the space, “so really I just have to replace the countertops and the appliances. I’m also going to refinish all of the floors and leave them bare. This is quality Caprican Glen.”

            “It is, isn’t it?” Richard noticed for the first time tapping his heel against the solid wood floors. He looked around critically. “I can see it.”

            “Can you, really?” She squinted at him, as if trying to read his mind.

            “I can,” he nodded and gave her waist a little squeeze. “But I can’t help but wonder why bought a house without talking to me about it.”

            She shook her head. “I just didn’t really think, I guess. I saw the house, and couldn’t resist.”

            “I thought we had an understanding?”

            “An understanding, yes. But no commitment.”

            “You’ve said time and again…”

            “That I don’t want to get married. I know. But I do need some kind of security, and having my own house gives me that.”

            “A house gives you security? You have a promising career, and a good head on your shoulders. _There_ is your security.”

            She sighed. “I didn’t think you would understand.”

            “Of course, I understand.” He pulled her closer.

            She laughed without pleasure and pushed away from him. “No you don’t. So much has changed for me. In the last year, I’ve gone from Laura Roslin to Governor Adar’s girlfriend. I feel like _I_ am getting lost in the frenzy that surrounds you. I need something that is mine alone.”

            “Property is fleeting, Laura.”

            “Says the man with ten generations of vast wealth behind him,” she laughed, only a little cynically.

            “But my wealth hasn’t gotten me everything I want.”

            She snorted. “Mmm. Only the Mayoralty of the financial center of the Twelve Colonies, and then the Governorship of the wealthiest of the Colonies. People are already pegging you as a future President.”

            “It hasn’t gotten the woman I love to agree to marry me.”

            “Let’s not go there right now.”

            He stepped back and leaned against the counter, folding his arms across his chest defensively. “Why not?”

            She mirrored his movements against the opposite counter. “Because, it always starts the same fight and we never get anywhere, that’s why.”

            “So, make me understand.”

            She sighed. A mild wave of nausea washed over her causing her to reach her arm out to the side to grip the counter. She wanted space, and she felt like the room was closing in on her. “I don’t know if I can. You don’t seem to listen to me anymore.”

“Haven’t I put nearly all of your suggestions for the school systems into action?  
“That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it.”

His eyes narrowed and glinted. “Enlighten me.”

             “Frak, Richard! Are you _trying_ to bait me? I am _sharing_ , just like you wanted. Why won’t you let this be a happy moment for us?” Her head jerked up and she paused briefly before walking to him and prying one of his hands out of their cross-and-lock to hold it between hers. “I know what you’re doing.” She simply stood there and watched him, holding his hand, but not really thinking, just trying to keep her growing anxiety under control. When she finally made up her mind, she took his hand and placed it on her waist, pulled his head to hers and kissed him slowly and deeply. They parted just slightly, lips a hair’s breadth apart. She opened her eyes and looked into his. They were hard, but full of fire. She didn’t take her eyes from his as he turned them so her back was to the counter, slid his hands down to her ass and then slid one under her thigh to wrap it around his waist.

            “Care to christen your new kitchen?” he whispered below her ear just before running his teeth down her neck. He kissed her collarbone and lifted her leg slightly higher. Laura leaned back against her elbows, which were resting on the counter, and let her head fall back as she let the familiar heat envelop her.  Apparently Richard was in a giving mood, and she was now in a mood to take. He skimmed his lips back up her neck to find hers again as his free hand slipped under her blouse and stroked her back. She moved her face back from his, and paused before pulling him back to her with one arm, using her free hand to move his where she wanted it. His fingers teased her lightly, gently stroking while she poured all of her anger, love, and frustration into her kiss.

            Richard froze and stopped the kiss briefly. “What’s gotten into you?” he asked against her lips.

She shook her head and leaned into him, her lips and tongue questing for more while her hands unbuckled his belt. “Stop talking,” she demanded.

He grabbed her hands before she could reach into his trousers. “Easy,” he said as he gripped her waist and lifted her onto the counter, and slid off her panties.

“What…”

“Ssh,” he interrupted, kissing the inside of her knee, then higher up her inner thigh, adding the wetness of his tongue, after which he slipped said leg over his shoulder and skimmed his way up to find her sex with his breath.

Laura groaned and leaned her head back, hitting it against the upper cabinet with a thunk. “Ow,” she whispered.

He looked up with his eyes only. “You okay?” His hot breath at her curls made her shudder in anticipation.

“Yes. Just don’t stop.” He didn’t. His tongue stroked up the seam of her closed labia and circled against the outer lips once, twice, before moving deeper. Laura tightened her leg against his back, urging him further. He seemed only too happy to comply, suckling with his lips and tongue, moving his hands from her legs to her bottom, pulling her closer. She couldn’t contain her moans of pleasure, which spurred him to take further action, moving to her clit and alternately applying suction with his lips and undulating strokes of the tongue. “Oh my Gods,” Laura’s head thunked back against the cabinet again, but this time, neither of them noticed. He lost in her moans and she lost in the spiraling tension. “There, there,” she moaned when he added a finger to the mix, entering her smoothly and stroking back toward him in a come-hither gesture. He slid in a second finger and pressed upwards while is tongue and lips provided just enough suction to send her into an explosive orgasm.

Before she had a chance to come down from the high, he pulled her off the counter and turned her to face away from him, sliding a hand up her back to lean her against the counter. He finished the job she had started of freeing himself from his trousers, and gently guided his cock into her from behind. She shuddered with aftershocks from her orgasm, clenching him involuntarily as he became fully seated in her. He stilled himself momentarily, seeking control, before sliding his hands up her back, under her shirt, and around to her breasts. Laura had put on a few pounds in the past weeks, which made Richard absolutely crazy with lust. She seemed so much more sensual and responsive, making him want her all the more. He felt like a horny teenager whenever he was around her.

Her nipples peaked through the lace of her bra and he gently circled the nubs with his second and third fingers while he began a slow, gentle thrust with his hips. Her head fell between her braced arms and she gasped and sighed. The little noises made him crazy and he increased the speed of his thrusts along with the pressure of his fingers against the firm buds of her nipples. She shoved her ass towards him and he felt her tension building again, along with his own. He moved one hand away from her breast to steady her hips while increasing the friction with the other one, rolling her chafed nipple through his fingers. She grunted and moaned and he felt the tension in her turn to cock-milking spasms as she flew into a second orgasm, and drawing what he was sure was the most intense orgasm of his life from him.

They stood bent over the counter for several moments, breathing heavily, his body covering hers. He drew aside her hair and placed a gentle kiss on her neck. “Wow,” he whispered, while she just shook her head. He untangled their bodies and turned her around to kiss her fully on the mouth. “You never cease to amaze me,” he murmured.

            She shook her head and smiled that wry little smile that meant she couldn’t quite believe what she had just done. It wasn’t in the plan for today, but nothing seemed to be following the plan today. She took the handkerchief that he presented to her and worked on setting herself to rights, while he did the same. They had no words for each other as they walked out of the little house side-by-side, but not touching. It was clear to her that Richard thought this made everything all right, as always, but she couldn’t breathe. She shouldn’t have done that, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. She _knew_ she needed distance, and yet the little self-destructive part of herself that liked to pop up at all sorts of inopportune moments asked, _Why not?_  

            They rode most of the way back to Caprica City in silence. One content, the other conflicted. Laura broke the stillness when she sat forward abruptly. “Lars, will you please drop me at my apartment this evening?”

            The loyal chauffeur’s eyebrows rose, but he said nothing other than, “Of course, Dr. Roslin.”

            She then pressed the button to raise the privacy window and settled back into the seat. Richard was looking at her strangely. “Care to explain?”

            The car slowed as it turned down her street and Laura turned to face him. “You asked me before what had gotten into me lately.”

            “Yes.”

            She took a deep breath. “Richard, I’m pregnant.”

Richard’s eyes opened wide, as the car slowed to a halt. “And you _still_ won’t marry me?”

“No. Not now. Not yet, anyway,” she hedged. “In fact, I think we need to take a few weeks apart from each other.” He opened his mouth to speak. “No.” she interrupted. “I need to figure out what’s going to be right for me in this situation. I’m taking two weeks of my stockpiled vacation time and going to Tauron to sit on the beach.”

“But…”

“I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ll call you when I get back.” She leaned over to kiss him and rapped on the window. The door opened, and Laura Roslin got out of the limo and walked into her apartment building leaving, for once, a speechless Richard Adar gaping in her wake.

 

 


	14. In Orbit Around Earth

Chapter 14

 _In Orbit Around Earth_

            William Adama couldn’t stop grinning as he pulled Laura Roslin down the passageway by the hand. They had finally arrived at Earth, and the shipboard celebrations were well underway. He heard her laugh and his smile nearly cracked his face open.

            “Slow down, Bill,” she laughed. “I don’t have the stamina I used to.”

            He gave her a hand another tug. “I want to get away from all those people.”

            “A private celebration?” she asked as she tripped along behind him.

            “Something like that…” He spun the wheel of the hatch with a flourish before pulling her inside. “I have something I want to share with you.”

            “Something to share?” she giggled, a very un-presidential sound in his mind, and he suspected that in the glee of this momentous occasion, her endorphins were sending her mind into the gutter.  “Why Bill, you can just ask… I _have_ been doing much better,” she purred.

            “That’s not what I meant.” He chuckled and dropped her hand just long enough to shut the hatch and lock it. “Sit.” He pointed towards the couch. She gave him a querying glance and he gave her a little shove. He adored the gleam she got in her eye when she was curious. It reminded him of their brief time of freedom on New Caprica. He wondered if there would be more times like that, now that they had arrived at Earth.

            He sauntered over to his rack, pulled a panel off of the end, and reached in to find his prize. “Ah, here it is.” He smiled as he pulled it out of the secret compartment and held it up for her to see.

            “Is that what I think it is?”

            He joined her on the couch after swiping two glasses from the sideboard and sat down next to her. “Will this interact with your medications?” He placed the small bottle on the table in front of them.

            She shrugged. “Does it really matter?”

            “I suppose not.” He grinned and poured what ambrosia was left in the small bottle into the glasses and handed her one. He watched the look of pleasure on her face as she raised the glass to her nose and savored the aroma of the spicy-sweet liquid.

            “This is something I never thought I’d smell again. I’m surprised you saved this. Why?”

            “I wanted to have something to celebrate with when we reached Earth.”

            “But, you didn’t believe.”

            The little knot of tension Bill didn’t even know was there relaxed. “After Kobol, he admitted, “how could I not believe?”

            That got the reaction he expected. Her eyes grew wide and her jaw worked as though she was about to say something, but no sound came out. He reached out and gently closed her mouth with his fingers, but something caused them to linger. He stroked them up the side of her face and brushed the limp strands of her wig off of her cheek, letting his hand rest there. She gave him a shy grin, which elicited one of his own. He leaned forward and brushed a light kiss across her lips before pulling back and raising his glass. “To Earth.” He lifted the glass and took a small sip, tipping it towards her to indicate that she should do the same.

            “To Earth,” she repeated and took a sip, savoring what was, quite possibly, her share of the last two shots of ambrosia in the universe.

            Adama watched her closely as she enjoyed the ambrosia, and tried to time the moment just right. “I’m worried…”

            She sighed, as she swallowed down the liquid. “I know,” she grimaced, that self-deprecating grimace he’d come to know and love. She placed the drink, still unfinished, on the table. “What is it, Bill?”

            He took another small sip of his own ambrosia. “What do you think we’re going to find down there?”

            “I can’t really say. I can’t deny that I’m somewhat concerned given the lack of radio traffic reported by the lieutenant, and the lack of any kind of greeting from the surface.”

            “That’s what I’m thinking. Though, I suppose there is the possibility that the thirteenth tribe has regressed technologically to a point where they lack the ability to either welcome or repudiate us.”

            She nodded. “That thought had crossed my mind, but do you really believe that?”

            “No, I don’t. Do you?”

            Another sigh bubbled out of her chest. “No.”

            “So what now? Curiosity or caution?”

            “A little of both. But we all go to the surface together. Humans and Cylons. Gods forbid we find something we don’t want to find. I don’t want the Cylons saying that it is some type of trick. I’ve had enough of games.”

            Laura stood up, stretched, and started pacing in front of the couch. Bill chuckled lightly to himself. It was a serious moment and she was being _presidential_ , but for some reason the lack of humor in this situation was becoming hilarious to him. She turned and glared at him.

            “What?” he asked, innocently.

            She shook her head. “Don’t play coy with me William Adama. I see the laughter behind your eyes. How can you be laughing?”

            He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her close. She resisted his embrace by placing a hand on his chest, but he was having none of that. He took the hand that was resting on his chest and slipped it around his waist. He felt her stiffen against him, and then relax. “Come on,” he whispered into her wig.

            She rested her head against his chest and he felt her smile. “You have to stop that.”

            “Stop what?”

            “Lightening the situation. I can’t get used to it.”

            “Out of character?”

            “A little.”

            “I can’t help it. I love you, and it makes me smile to hear you say it back.” He planted a kiss on her head.

            She wrapped her other arm around him and hugged him fiercely. After a moment, she reached an arm up and snaked a finger beneath her wig to scratch.

            “Itchy?” Adama queried gently.

            She wrapped her arm back around his waist and nodded. “Mmm hmm.” She sighed. “I miss my hair.”

            “You are beautiful with or without it, you know.” He gently lifted the wig and kissed her smooth, bald head.

            She looked up at him and smiled. “I’m glad you think so.”

            Bill stepped away and placed the wig on the form she kept on his sideboard. He turned back to face her and gestured toward the cabinet. “It looks empty without the wig. You, on the other hand…” he crooked his finger toward her and held open his arms.

            Laura stepped into his embrace and sighed, but she was restless and while hugs were delicious, she wanted more. “Kiss me, will you Bill?”

            He glanced down at her. “Gladly.” He gently brushed her lips with his own. When she smiled against his lips, a little frisson of arousal streaked through him. He wasn’t expecting that. Not now. He pulled back slightly to look at her. Funny how with everything that was currently on their minds, not to mention the advanced stage of her treatment, he suddenly wanted her naked and under him more than anything; even more than even the prospect of seeing Earth, at long last.

            She melted back into his embrace, making small snuggling motions with her cheek into his jacket and running her hand up and down his back from shoulder blade to just above his bottom. It was a quiet moment, but one that made him burn. How many times had they made love during the last two years? He’d lost count, yet there had been no consummation since _her_ declaration of love. There had simply been no time. Now, as they embraced, he became hyper-aware of her curves pressed sweetly against his body. Those curves had become somewhat diminished due to her illness and its treatment, but they still had the power to knock the wind out of him like a punch to the gut. He stroked a finger over her head and she shivered, burrowing her face deeper into his uniform coat. He followed his fingers with a feather-light brush of his lips. When she hummed almost inaudibly, he repeated the gesture with wet kisses.

            She groaned and turned up her face up to his. Their lips greeted each other softly. He tasted a corner of her mouth, and she responded by nipping his bottom lip.  When he sought entry to her mouth with his tongue, she met him eagerly. She tasted so sweet, sweeter than he remembered. There was hope in this kiss, but also fear. He could taste her fear, and he was sure she could taste his. The uncertainty of what they were about to find on Earth was making his stomach churn and his chest tighten. _She must feel similarly_ , Bill mused, when her hand suddenly slid behind his head and grabbed his hair so tightly he winced.

            “Sorry, sorry,” she whispered against his lips.

            “No, no,” he whispered back. “It’s all right, it’s all right.” He backed her up towards the couch and lowered her down so that she was lying quite decadently on her back. He sat up on one knee and looked at her, smiling.

She reached up and grabbed his lapel. “Oh no you don’t. Come here.” She pulled his head down to hers demanding that he finish what he started.

He was on fire. Fed by fear and longing, he kissed her again, sliding his hand up her leg and under her skirt. She lifted her hips slightly allowing him to slide the skirt over them. Bill slid his hand back down her leg and slipped off one shoe and then the other. He then turned his focus to the other leg kissing and biting his way up to her knee. Her shiver in response caused one of his own. He wanted to draw this out, but there really wasn’t time. They were about to take a raptor to Earth and find what the surface had to offer them. From the look of her thrown back head and closed eyes, she was in no mood to go slowly either. The fact that she was in the mood at all, was astounding to him, and he wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass him by.

He nipped his way up her right thigh, causing a little wriggle of her hips. They’d done this before, and she clearly knew what he was up to and had no objection. Her scent had changed since she’d begun treatment, but it was still sweet. He savored the new flavor as he kissed his way up her leg.

Adama slid off her panties and found his goal. The first stroke of his tongue elicited a groan of, what sounded like, pure agony. “Stop, stop, stop,” he vaguely heard her moan through his haze of lust. He reluctantly pulled himself away from his task and brought his face to hers, kissing her gently on the mouth.

“What is it?”

“Too sensitive,” she gasped.

“Oh gods, did I…”

“No!”

“…hurt you?”

“No, not at all. It’s just…too much.” She slid her leg up behind his. “Just take these off,” she gasped, rubbing his uniform trousers with her foot. “Slow. That’ll be fine.”

He sat back on his heel, balancing the other foot on the floor, concerned.

“Don’t look at me like that. Just do it.”

 _Who was he to argue?_ Bill quickly divested himself of his uniform jacket and pants under her scrutiny. It felt a little unfair for her to still be fully clothed, with the exception of her panties, and have him in his boxers and tanks, but when he moved to handle her skirt she stopped him with a word. “No.”

He covered her body with his own and kissed her on the mouth. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She reached into his shorts as he deepened their kiss, and he froze as her delicate hand firmly stroked his cock. He counted slowly backwards from ten to maintain his composure as she stroked him with a knowing grip, and then guided him inside her.

“Gods,” he groaned, counting backwards again. She was so slick and warm. _And sensitive._ He felt her soft pants against his mouth accompanied by the slight stiffening of her body that made him think he wasn’t the only one counting backwards from ten.

Their bodies came together in a slow, grinding motion, as he learned from her signals that thrusts were too much. He let her set the pace and soon he felt her body tense in that way he knew so well indicated her impending orgasm. He felt the slick muscles that surrounded him begin to pulse and suck, and reveled in her agonized moan as she tumbled over the edge. He gently bit her neck as the soft contractions pulled him into his own climax. The world went completely blank and he collapsed with her, his body half on hers, half on the couch, demanding contact, but not wanting to overwhelm her less-than-hale body.

“I love you,” she whispered into his neck.

“I love you too,” he whispered back, planting kisses on her brow, cheeks, and lips.

He pulled her closer into his body, savoring the warmth of their encounter. “It’s going to be cold where we’re going.”

“So you’ve said.”

“Cold summer, but an even colder winter.”

“Hmm.” She murmured.

“New Caprica may have been warmer.”

She opened her eyes. “Kobol?”

He nodded. “May have been a better answer. Still may be the better answer. It remains to be seen what the Cylons want with Earth.”

“You don’t think we’re going to find anyone down there, do you?”

“No. Do you?”

“No. I imagine it will be like Kobol. Deserted. But at least Kobol was temperate. Why would the thirteenth tribe settle somewhere so cold? Was it a test from the gods? Did they fail?”

“I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think it was a test?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“You don’t want to know what I think.”

She snuggled closer. “Yes, I do. Of course I do. I rely on you to be straight with me.”

“I think the climate may have been too brutal for the thirteenth tribe and they died off.”

She looked startled at that. “Hunh.”

Bill dropped a kiss on her lips. “I can’t help but think otherwise. Why else would there be no sign of a technologically advanced civilization on the surface? Just like Kobol, they must have somehow self-destructed.”

She shivered in his arms, just as his phone rang. It rang only once, but that was their signal. He helped her to sit and smoothed her skirt into place. “I took the liberty of arranging gear for you.”

He watched a blush creep over her cheeks, and climb its way to her scalp. He couldn’t help but feel charmed by the fact that they had just shared such an intimate moment, yet his simple act of helping her put herself to rights caused her to blush. He stood up and walked over to his closet, pulling out some cargo pants and jackets. “One for me, one for you,” he indicated as he removed his own gear and pulled the pants on. He then walked over to the sideboard and picked up her wig, gently pulling his fingers through the strands. “Still looks good,” he murmured as he walked to her and helped her replace it on her head.

“At least it’ll be warm, if itchy.”

He pulled a hat from the pile. “Warmer than this thing, I imagine.”

She took it from him, placed it over her wig, grimaced and removed it, handing it back to him. “No thanks.”

“Worse?”

“Much. If I didn’t run the risk of losing most of my body heat through my head, I’d just go down with my scarf.” She strolled over to the couch to retrieve her discarded panties and slipped them on under her skirt before walking back to him to find her share of the gear. “Unzip me, will you, Bill?”

He smiled as she turned around. “With pleasure.” He slid down the zipper at the back of her skirt, following it down her derriere with his hand. He gave a little squeeze, which elicited a snort of laughter, before handing her her pair of cargo pants. The two of them dressed in relative haste, trying to bundle in the warmth for their trip planet-side without stifling themselves before they got there. When they were laced into their boots, Adama stood and held out a hand to the woman who was his partner both in this journey and in life. “Let’s see what’s out there, Madame President.”

She took his hand. “Indeed, Admiral.” He twined their fingers together as they reached the hatch and pulled her to him for a slow, sweet kiss. “I love you, Laura.”

“I love you too, Bill.” She smiled, and they walked out of the hatch towards the hangar bay, and the end of a journey.


End file.
